Willem de Kooning
1904 - 1997
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch-born American artist who became one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. At the age of twelve, de Kooning enrolled in night classes at the renowned Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques, where he studied for eight years. After relocating to the United States in 1926, de Kooning eventually gained employment in the mural and easel divisions of the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project. This job marked the beginning of de Kooning’s full-time career in painting and sculpting, and he quickly rose to prominence as a leading artist of his time. A principal figure of Abstract Expressionism, de Kooning is known for combining elements of Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism to create his signature artistic style.
De Kooning’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States and abroad. His works have been included in thousands of exhibitions and are in the permanent collections of many art institutions abroad, including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Modern, London; and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and in America such as The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. He was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, among other honors.