Willem De Kooning: Paintings 1960-1980

Book Description

Willem de Kooning is celebrated in the United States as one of the most significant artists of the 20th century and a leading Abstract Expressionist. In Europe, however, the artist has yet to be fully recognized, particularly with regards to his work of the 1960s and 1970s, when he retreated from urban life to live and work on Long Island. This segment of de Kooning's oeuvre bears the imprint of a fundamental experience of the landscape, for it was in these Long Island works that he developed a new style of figuration, characterized by a transformed sense of color and energetic gesture. This period of vigorous, pioneering creativity is illuminated for the first time in this volume, which features a concentrated selection of large-format paintings. In images and essays by Klaus Kertess, Harold Rosenberg, and others, the book illustrates how de Kooning's paintings--although recognizable as landscapes--grew abstract under the influence of his intense experience of nature.

Customer Reviews:

seminal period of an American master.......2007-02-26

This book contains numerous illustrations of many rarely seen works from what is perhaps the seminal period of this masters work. There are numerous essays by leading scholars of de Koonings art. The design is a little heavy handed, for example the ideosyncratic typeface, but it does not get in the way of viewing the plates. The uncoated paper is a nice touch. Many other books reproduce de Koonings paintings with oversaturated colors; this one does not.

The best of the best........2007-01-15

Great book showing the best paintings from the greatest modern painter from his greatest artistic period, the sixties and seventies. Wish I had visited the exhibition. This book is a must have for every de Kooning lover.

de Kooning paintings 1960-1980.......2006-03-10

Book is in English and German.Good photographs with some works I had not seen before.Also a couple pictures of de Koonings studio inside and out.Includes an interview by Harold Rosenberg.Loved it, of course I am De Koonings biggest fan!

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Wilem De Kooning: Late Paintings
Julie Sylvester
Manufacturer: Schirmer/Mosel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 382960226X

Book Description

Dutch-American painter Willem de Kooning was a first generation Abstract Expressionist. Starting as an "angry young man" in the 1930s, he is best known for his Women series—a subject he pursued from the beginning to the end of his career. In the 1970s he began to make sculptures.

At a ripe old age, de Kooning's furor made way for a quiet, almost conceptual art of painting that is nevertheless full of suspense. Heading in a new direction, his works became more drawing-like, with a preference for primary colors, eventually including pastel colors to the palette. Bridging the gap to Minimalism, he never abandoned gestural forms.

Customer Reviews:

Nice introduction.......2006-04-12

While this might not be the De Kooning book for someone who wants an indepth view of the artist and his work, it's a nice introduction at an affordable price. The text reads like an encyclopedia entry (you won't find any major revelations but it covers all the bases), and there are plenty of good color reproductions encompassing De Kooning's entire career.

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The definitive study on De Kooning
APT TRIBUTE TO AN INFLUENTIAL ARTIST
Rich, colorful, and insightful

Willem de Kooning: Paintings
David Sylvester , Richard Shiff , and Martha Prather
Manufacturer: National Gallery Washington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300060114

Book Description

This beautiful book presents a retrospective of eighty of Willem de Kooning`s finest paintings and painted works on paper. The book reassesses de Kooning`s critical status as one of America`s greatest and most influential artists, examines the complexity of his painting techniques, and places him in the context of other artists and art movements of his era. The book serves as the catalogue for a major exhibition of de Kooning`s work presented at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London.

Customer Reviews:

The definitive study on De Kooning.......2007-04-09

This book is undoubtedly the best recent publication on De Kooning. Very complete, it encompasses the entire career of the artist with beautiful reproductions and a text partly written by one of the most sensible art critics of our time, the late David Sylvester (whose other writings on American Art I strongly recommend too). It was a catalogue for an exhibition held at the National Gallery in Washington in 1994, which, to this date remains a reference.

APT TRIBUTE TO AN INFLUENTIAL ARTIST.......2004-04-02

One of the New York action painters, abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning was born in Holland almost a century ago. He began as a portrait and figure painter, later becoming "an artist who makes ambiguity an hypothesis on which to build."

This gloriously beautiful retrospective of his work was published in conjunction with the first major exhibition devoted exclusively to his paintings at the National Gallery of Art. With 80 color and 50 black and white plates, exhibit curator Prather, art historian Sylvester, and art history professor Shiff offer commentary on 84 of de Koonings's paintings which span five decades of his career.

Beginning in the 1930s with the earliest series of paintings of men and women to the 1980s when the artist's style became more abstract, this superb volume is testimony to de Koonings' life and oeuvre.

A contemporary of Rothko, Kline, and Pollock, Willem de Kooning's works are sometimes taken as metaphors, dynamic with shapes and colors splayed across the canvas. He is one of the most influential artists of our generation. This splendid catalogue is apt tribute.

Rich, colorful, and insightful.......2001-02-01

This is probably the best book about Willem De Kooning on the market. Along with a multitude of color plates David Sylvester offers historical, technical, and philisophical insights about Willem De Kooning and his life works. The large format makes viewing the artists works very enjoyable. The reading is not overly complicated as it paints a full portrait of the artist, his accomlishments, his techniques, and also offers an approach to understanding the significance of his work. A must have for any De Kooning, or Abstract Expressionist enthusiast.

Willem De Kooning: Reflections in the Studio

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Gentle Giant
Best On de Kooning
Timeless and Enthralling!
A Classic
A MUST READ!

Willem De Kooning: Reflections in the Studio
Edvard Lieber
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810945606

Book Description

In the 1980s, composer and pianist Edvard Lieber became the friend and confidant of Willem and Elaine de Kooning. Now, drawing on the stories they shared with him, Lieber has created an intimate anecdotal portrait of Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) over the decades.

From the rise of Action Painting in New York City to raucous parties in East Hampton, Long Island, this lively chronicle is packed with telling details that shed new light on Abstract Expressionism-and debunk many de Kooning myths. We get a fresh look at Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky, and other celebrated de Kooning friends. And we get a firsthand portrait of Willem near the end of his life-and see a still vital artist working with undiminished power.

Illustrated throughout with Lieber's candid photographs, this book offers a unique look at an enigmatic artist.
98 illustrations, 71 in full color, 9 x 9"

EDVARD LIEBER, a composer, concert pianist, painter, and filmmaker, teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He was Willem de Kooning's secretary and curator from 1987 to 1989, and the co-executor of Elaine de Kooning's estate.

Customer Reviews:

Gentle Giant.......2006-04-07

A bluntly honest book of the last decade of De Kooning and his paintings. The author's analysis tells of the decline of De Kooning's mental facualities and how others coaxed him into continuing his painting, to the point of choosing the colors or his palette and drawing the design on the canvas. It reports that his work of the late 80's might stretch the credibility of his own creative integrity.
His paintings during the early 80's challenge our previous concepts of De Kooning's paintings and the book helps expand our appreciation of this gentle giant of art. The book is sad but a also a reaffirmation of the contributions of a genius at any age.

Best On de Kooning.......2005-02-27

This isn't just a book about Willem de Kooning, it IS de Kooning - still the best book on him and his milieu!

Timeless and Enthralling!.......2001-05-08

Gorgeous photographs and reproductions of de Kooning's last paintings make this by far the most compelling book on the artist and his period. Anyone who thinks de Kooning died with a whimper should consider this book: it eviscerates the idea that the artist's last works were weak and empty. Over fifteen paintings may be seen in a tumultuous new style executed after his last known paintings, attesting to de Kooning's artistic genius triumphing over speculation and theory.

A Classic.......2000-11-07

Among the most original documents on any artist in history, this compressed volume is multidimensional in its richness and authenticity. In the form of stories culled from conversations the author had with Willem and Elaine de Kooning, the book emerges as a de Kooning autobiography and a compelling synthesis of one of the great periods in twentieth-century American art.

From the opening lines, the reader is irresistibly drawn into de Kooning's life as he hides in a ship and steals away from Holland to America, befriends numerous artists in New York such as Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, and John Cage, struggles to evolve his own style of painting, and ultimately contributes to the evolution of abstract expressionism as one of its major figures. In addition, vivid footnotes offer thumbnails on the Cedar Bar, WPA, New York cafeterias, the Club, Black Mountain College, de Kooning's family, floor plans of de Kooning's East Hampton studio, and numerous other subjects. Astonishingly, nearly all of the information is new - untainted by historical interpretation - with hundreds of facts corrected in the artist's own words and substantiated by the author's meticulous research. The result is an encounter with de Kooning himself.

While the book's title refers to the de Koonings reminiscing, it also alludes to the nearly one hundred photographs taken by the author in de Kooning's studio. Brilliantly composed, each of the images is a surprise, and the chemistry between Lieber and de Kooning is immediate, complex, and richly-hued. There are deeply-moving portraits, charming vignettes, discerning studio views, studies of the artist at work, and - remarkably - nearly two dozen of de Kooning's last paintings in a bold, new, complex style, previously hidden from the world.

A MUST READ!.......2000-06-04

Unlike most artist biographies which are written by curators, scholars or critics (who often force the reader to conform to their predisposed ideas) this book lets DeKooning speak for himself. DeKooning is not exploited or demeaned as in many kiss and tell books, instead what is revealed is an insightful portrait written by a close friend and confidant.

The text spans DeKooning's lifetime and is chock full of new information. Having read this book I now understand and know more about DeKooning, his art, his friends, and his milieu.

The photographs are equally enthralling. Portraits of the artist, photographs of him working, photographs of the studio, and photographs of the finished paintings all reveal an individual in his artistic prime. Most extraordinary are the ravishing color photographs of the late 1980's paintings-paintings that have been dismissed by many art historians and critics as the work of an "ailing artist". Anyone who sees these photographs (reproduced here for the first time) surely will be as moved by their beauty and intensity as I was.

On the whole, this exemplary achievement deserves a place in the library of all who appreciate art.

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who needs enemies?

An art-world exposý

Elaine and Bill: Portrait of a Marriage : The Lives of Willem and Elaine De Kooning
Lee Hall
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Willem De Kooning: Reflections in the Studio

ASIN: 0060183055

Book Description

Willem and Elaine de Kooning shared not only a tumultuous, on-again, off-again 'open' marriage, they also navigated a 1950s New York art scene at the center of an artistic revolution.

Customer Reviews:

who needs enemies?.......2002-11-21

This book is just chock-full of rumor and gossip, much of which is totally insubstantiated. Some of the 'facts' are just plain wrong. With friends like Lee Hall, who needs enemies? Do yourself a favor and if you do read this, read it with more than a few grains of salt. There are better stories about the New York School - John Myers' memoir comes to mind, for one.

An art-world exposý.......2000-08-17

Thank you, Cooper Square, for reissuing Hall's valuable book. Elaine and Bill deserves a wide-based readership. Biography readers interested in Elaine and/or Willem de Kooning in particular, or American artists of this century in general, will learn a great deal. Hall's friendship with Elaine lays the groundwork and is enhanced by her discussions with friends (and wannabee friends) of both painters--although after the fact some refused to acknowledge their participation. The author also brings long-delayed attention to Elaine's neglected painting--art that is very much her own, not the weaker shadow of her husband's work often suggested.

Perhaps this book's principal contribution, however, is its cool and calm expos of the "art world's" best-kept secret: that, at base, it is a fraud that has less to do with expression than financial gain. Readers get a clear, well-written, and easily believable picture of an artist's life during that time of near-mythical when hard drinkin', butch fightin', and tough paintin' were the mainstays of New York's boy-culture art scene of the 50s and into the 60s. The book provides a much-wanted description of why there's so little "there" there in the articles by the likes of Greenberg and Rosenberg. In light of their various affairs--both amorous and financial-one understands how these critics' and their cronies' small-scale star making paved a sort of on-ramp to the market-driven farce the art world is today.

Customer Reviews:

His Study of Women vs. Himself.......2001-05-06

I was enjoying my book of de Kooning's work years ago, when I was painting in that same abstract expressionist style. I especially loved his "portraits" of women done within that style. I was showing them to hubby one night and he said, "The women look just like him. I think he was painting himself." Well, whose the artist in this household, huh? That was my first thought. My second was that, darn it all, hubby was right! As I went back through the paintings, I couldn't believe I'd missed seeing that. Just like writers, artists spend a lot of time doing autobiographical work, sometimes not even knowing they are doing so themselves. de kooning lived to a very old age and his work became simpler yet still in variations of his basic abstractionism. I think he was a marvelous painter and well worth studying but if you hate abstract expressionist art, he is not for you. There are a number of filmed documentaries, which show him painting in his studio, that I saw years ago. They are well worth chasing down as well for artists. He spent as much time looking at his paintings, studying them as they evolved, maybe even more time, which is a very natural thing for an artist to do once in the creative process. If you ever feel guilty for just staring and staring at your work before moving onto its next stage, de kooning can make you feel much better about yourself!

The Essential: Willem de kooning (Essential Series (Wonderland Press).)

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ICONIC ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST
Excellent!

The Essential: Willem de kooning (Essential Series (Wonderland Press).)
Abrams
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810958112

Book Description

Insightfully reconciles de Kooning's sometimes offputting and strangely evasive art with the vulnerable, genial, yet alienated Dutch immigrant intriguing visions of cataclysmic visions and pain. De Kooning's unique approach to his subjects is presented in such a way that the reader can have the sudden enlightenment, or Aha!, experience: "Now I get de Kooning's importance as a major modern figure...now I see why the 'smart' crowd ooohs and aaahs over him" Rich with background information about the New York School and the people who influenced him; plentiful anecdotes and pertinent and poignant quotes.

Customer Reviews:

ICONIC ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST.......2004-03-02

A diligent experimenter and Abstract Expressionist who sometimes shocked, the Dutch born de Kooning was also a sculptor. After stowing away to America as an impoverished 22-year-old immigrant, this artist grew to become a leader in modern art, "a defining member of the most influential art movement created in the United States."
With the impact of his colors drawing gasps, he literally transformed the way many of us view our surroundings. Quite obviously, he had admiration for traditional Western art yet struck out on his own only to find the country floundering in the depths of a Depression.
Despite his lack of funds de Kooning "remembers the years of the Depression as nurturing, formative ones. A sense of shared community prevails, since everyone is poor and none of them is famous yet."

Excellent!.......2000-03-12

When I first got this book I was a little skeptical thinking an artist as gifted as de kooning couldnt be captured in a little book, particularly an artist in the abstract field. Glad to say I was wrong. The author accomplishes what she sets out to do:

- comprehensive overview of de kooning's life and works; - introducing non-lovers of abstract art (not me but friends) in a non-overbearing manner to the world of abstract art; - highlighting de kooning's major works.

Accomplishing the above in a small book the size of a cd that you can read in one airline flight is pretty impressive. Aftert reading it I felt I knew de kooning -- already one of my favorite artists -- even more than I did before and I will certainly get other books in this series on different artists.

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Great study of a master of drawing
Good Book

Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure
Cornelia H. Butler , Paul Schimmel , and Willem de Kooning
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 069109618X

Amazon.com

At the forefront of modern art during the 1950s, painter Willem de Kooning secured his place in art history with the unveiling of his "Woman" series. Colorful, brash paintings composed of bold, violent brush strokes were seen by critics and viewers as vulgar and problematic but unfailingly important in their merging of abstract and representational forms. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles presents, in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name, Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure, a collection of drawings and studies that led up to the famous "Woman" paintings. Seen as completed works in their own right, these drawings bear de Kooning's distinctive draftsmanship of powerful lines, erasures, scrapings, and strong color. Blurred images of the figure coming apart at the seams, the works look as if they were made during an emotional explosion, though de Kooning's work process was known to be rather laborious. Four insightful essays complement the arresting images, including a remarkable discussion on the social ramifications of de Kooning's vision of the female form by curator Cornelia H. Butler. This well-crafted book is perfect for any fan of modern painting. --J.P. Cohen

Book Description

Willem de Kooning, one of the great pioneers of Abstract Expressionism, experimented with the human form throughout his career. An artist deeply skeptical about Western ideals of beauty, he focused on anatomical fragmentation and spatial ambiguity to express the fleeting nature of the individual. This strikingly designed book, published in conjunction with an exhibition originating at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, explores de Kooning's drawings of the female form between 1940 and 1955. It reveals an artist who struggled to eliminate traditional barriers between drawing and painting as he explored ambiguities between the figure and its background.

De Kooning relied on early-twentieth-century abstraction in his initial attempts to redefine the figure, drawing and re-drawing the same line until he resolved the image. Beginning in 1947-49, he synthesized abstraction and figuration, dismembering figures and rearranging them with seeming randomness. As his figural compositions developed, geometric configurations transformed into architectural elements (suggesting windows, doors, mirrors, paintings, and furniture) to create ambiguous space. In 1951, de Kooning abruptly returned to depictions of women. Using turbulent brushwork, he turned female figures into monumental, intentionally vulgar, wildly distorted images whose parts read alternately as flat pattern and fully rounded forms. The effect is an almost violent sensuality.

The artist's later style differed dramatically from that of earlier decades. Familiar shapes and hues suggest that women remain in his works, yet they are distorted beyond recognition as if seen from underwater. As put by Thomas Hess, the artist's friend and critic, "Woman, for de Kooning, is the human equivalent of water; more than a vessel, she embodies it in planes of rippling flesh.

June 15 - September 8, 2002

Customer Reviews:

Great study of a master of drawing.......2007-04-09

If you don't like De Kooning, maybe you should rethink and stop to look at his wonderfully traced drawings which exhude life, violence and passion. This book is the first such publication and it may be the only opportunity to see so many drawings together (drawings do not like daylight and therefore are rarely exhibited). Definitely worth it.

Good Book.......2005-06-05

I bought this book as a gift for my girlfriend's birthday and I was shocked by the size of the book. There are tons of images in the book, most seem to span his career from pencil drawings of his wife to the more familiar works like the one on the cover (which take up most of the works in the book, thank goodness.) The images are laid out with great focus, my only complaint is that some of the images aren't bigger, but then they would have to cut across the seam more.

The book is big, it weighs a lot, it has mostly pictures of his works, there is only 1 picture per page (no distracting, busy design), and a small biography in the back. A very good deal for the price, you get your money's worth.

Willem De Kooning: The Late Paintings, the 1980s

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de Koonings late work may be his best.

Willem De Kooning: The Late Paintings, the 1980s
Willem De Kooning , Robert Storr , and Gary Garrels
Manufacturer: Distributed Art Pub Inc (Dap)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0935640495

Customer Reviews:

de Koonings late work may be his best........2000-04-23

Thanks to the efforts of his former wife Elaine, Willem de Kooning was able to enter his last productive period with growing confidence and originality. As a result his late work, in which his unique and beautiful touch and vision come into full flower, may be the best work he ever did. Some critics are dismayed or even offended by the late work, thinking it the result of manipulations by his dealer, assistants and Elaine, but the beauty and originality of these late canvases offer the best testimony against such views. This book is superb in it's organization, layout and printing, and the essays are convincing, eloquent and first-rate. Any lover of abstract art cannot dispense with owning this superb volume.

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