de Kooning: An American Master
Photo: Dan Budnik. Woodfin Camp & Associates (from de Kooning: An American Master)
Willem de Kooning is one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, a true “painter’s painter” whose protean work continues to inspire many artists. In the thirties and forties, along with Arshile Gorky and Jackson Pollock, he became a key figure in the revolutionary American movement of abstract expressionism. Of all the painters in that group, de Kooning worked the longest and was the most prolific, creating powerful, startling images well into the s.
“Brilliant, sweeping, authoritative…The elusiveness of its subject makes the achievements of de Kooning: An American Master that much more dazzling.”
Awards
Pulitzer Prize in Biography
National Book Critics Circle Awards,
The Los Angeles Times Book Award for Biography,
One of the 10 Best Books of by The New York Times
The English-Speaking Union of the United States, Ambassador Book Award for Biography and Autobiography
The first major biography of painter Willem de Kooning, de Kooning: An American Master captures both the life and wor
Willem de Kooning
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Who Was Willem de Kooning?
Willem de Kooning stowed away to the United States in and settled in New York City. While working in the commercial realm, de Kooning also was developing his artistic style, exploring both figure painting and more abstract subjects through the s. By the s, those two main tendencies seemed to fuse perfectly, notably in Pink Angels. De Kooning became known for his depiction of women, and women would dominate his paintings for decades. Later in life, de Kooning explored landscapes and even sculpture, before Alzheimer's disease made it impossible to continue on. He died in at age
Early Life
Born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in , Willem de Kooning embraced the artistic path at a young age, dropping out of school when he was 12 to begin an apprenticeship in commercial design and decorating. During this period, de Kooning took night classes at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques, and in the midst of his education, at age 16, he landed his first job in the industry, working with the art director of a large department store.
In , de Kooning stowed away on a ship bound for the United States, where he jumped from
Biografia di Willem de Kooning, espressionista astratto olandese
Willem de Kooning (24 aprile - 19 marzo ) è stato un artista olandese-americano noto come leader del movimento espressionista astratto degli anni ' È stato notato per aver combinato le influenze del cubismo , dell'espressionismo e del surrealismo in uno stile idiosincratico.
Fatti veloci: Willem de Kooning
- Nato il 24 aprile a Rotterdam, Paesi Bassi
- Morto : 19 marzo a East Hampton, New York
- Coniuge: Elaine Fried (m. )
- Movimento Artistico : Espressionismo Astratto
- Opere selezionate : "Woman III" (), "July 4th (), "Clamdigger" ()
- Risultato chiave : Medaglia presidenziale della libertà ()
- Fatto interessante: divenne cittadino statunitense nel
- Citazione notevole : "Non dipingo per vivere. Vivo per dipingere".
Primi anni di vita e carriera
Willem de Kooning è nato e cresciuto a Rotterdam, nei Paesi Bassi. I suoi genitori divorziarono quando lui aveva 3 anni. Ha lasciato la scuola all'età di 12 anni ed è diventato apprendista di artisti commerciali. Per i successivi otto anni si iscrisse ai corsi serali presso l'Accademia di Belle Arti e Scienze Applicate di Rotterdam, che da a
Reviews
de Kooning: An American Master
ReviewsLaura TrippiReviewsLaura Trippi
“One of the great strengths of this book is its sense of an artist in his studio. At times the authors disappear, and we watch [de Kooning] apply paint, scrape it off and attack again, trace sections of a painting and pin them on other parts to see how they work, stare at pictures for hours, destroy canvases, fly into rages of frustration and fling furniture about. An important book.”
“One of the great strengths of this book is its sense of an artist in his studio. At times the authors disappear, and we watch [de Kooning] apply paint, scrape it off and attack again, trace sections of a painting and pin them on other parts to see how they work, stare at pictures for hours, destroy canvases, fly into rages of frustration and fling furniture about. An important book.”
ReviewsLaura TrippiReviewsLaura Trippi
“Not every great artist leads a fascinating life. De Kooning did. Stevens and Swan give him a great biography to prove it.”
“Not every great artist leads a fascinating life. De Kooning did. Stevens and Swan give him a great biography to prove it.”
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