Willem De Kooning Influence

Willem de Kooning a Dutch-American abstract expressionism artist, broke the mold for what was expected of artist. He maintained his own style in a time of artistic transition in the United States. De Kooning had the ability to incorporate action, form and feeling into all of his works. He

Willem de Kooning was born on April 24th, 1904 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. At 12 years old he left school to become a commercial artist apprentice until 1924. At 20, he began attending art classes at the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten en Technische, now the Willem de Kooning Academie. In 1926 de Kooning became a stowaway on a ship headed for the United States. He landed in Newport News, Virginia, he moved and worked in New Jersey until 1927 when he moved to his West Fourty Fourth street studio in Manhattan. In 1928 de Kooning began to really find himself as an artist and break away from commercial art, which he had been using to support himself. After joining an artist colony de Kooning began a lifelong relationship with Stuart Davis and Arshile Gorky. Gorky is accredited as one of de Kooning’s biggest influences in his art and is often called his “master.” In 1934 de Kooning joined the Artists Union and was Employed by the Federal Art

By the late 40’s early 50’s de Kooning and his colleagues were rejecting the stylistic norms, this is how “abstract expressionism” came to fruition. Until this time, Paris had been considered the center of the avant-garde, and the groundbreaking nature of Picasso’s contributions was frustratingly difficult to surpass for this group of highly competitive New York artists. De Kooning said it plainly: “Picasso is the man to beat.” De Kooning and this group finally stole the spotlight and were responsible for the historic shift of attention to New York in the years following World War