Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning is a pioneering figure of Abstract Expressionism and one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.

Born on April 24, 1904, in Rotterdam, de Kooning would become recognized as a leader of the New York school by the 1950s. Throughout his career, he moved seamlessly between abstraction and figuration through proliferations in painting, drawing, print media, and sculpture. For de Kooning, one body of work often informed the next, and his method of painting was characterized by a drive for exploration and experimentation.