Willem De Kooning

If jackson pollock was the public face of the new york avant garde willem de kooning could be described as an artist s artist who was perceived by many of his peers as its leader.
Willem de kooning. Who was willem de kooning. His gestural works which were loosely based on figures landscapes and still lifes helped establish a distinctly american style of painting. Willem de kooning stowed away to the united states in. His parents leendert de kooning and cornelia nobel were divorced in 1907 and de kooning lived first with his father and then with his mother.
He left school in 1916 and became an apprentice in a firm of commercial artists. Willem de kooning was a dutch born american painter who was one of the leading proponents of abstract expressionism. Willem de kooning 1968 willem de kooning was born in rotterdam the netherlands on april 24 1904. Driven by an acutely perceptive mind a strong work ethic and persistent self doubt coupled with the determination to achieve the charismatic de kooning became one of america s and the twentieth century s most influential artists.
Willem de kooning born april 24 1904 rotterdam netherlands died march 19 1997 east hampton new york u s dutch born american painter who was one of the leading exponents of abstract expressionism particularly the form known as action painting.