Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning (1904–1997) was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and emigrated to the United States in 1926, spending most of his career in New York before later settling in East Hampton, Long Island. A leading figure of Abstract Expressionism, he is celebrated for his energetic, gestural paintings that blur the boundaries between abstraction and representation. His best-known works include the Woman series, while his broader oeuvre encompasses painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture. De Kooning’s work often explored the human figure, landscape, and the physical act of painting itself, characterised by vigorous brushwork and complex layering of colour and form. His works are held in major collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Tate; and numerous leading private collections. Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, de Kooning received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. His market remains exceptionally strong and highly liquid, with major works regularly achieving multi-million-dollar prices at auction and attracting sustained international collector demand.