Elaine de Kooning's Five Most Important Works: From Self-Portrait to Bacchus Series
Born in New York in 1918, Elaine de Kooning emerged as a notable Abstract Expressionist, with her work Self-Portrait #3 from 1946 showcased at the National Portrait Gallery. While teaching at the University of New Mexico in 1958, she attended bullfights in Mexico, which influenced her 1959 artwork Bullfight, now held at the Denver Art Museum. In 1965, she created a portrait of President John F. Kennedy for the Kennedy family, utilizing striking yellow and green hues, though she faced challenges completing it after his assassination in November 1963. Her Basketball Players (c. 1981) encapsulated over three decades of game observation, and in 1976, her Bacchus series commenced with The Triumph of Silenus, featuring acrylic, charcoal, and watercolor.
Key facts
- Elaine de Kooning was born in New York in 1918 and was a key figure in Abstract Expressionism.
- Her 1946 Self-Portrait #3 is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
- In 1958 she taught at the University of New Mexico and visited bullfights in Mexico with photographer Margaret Randall.
- Her painting Bullfight (1959) is held by the Denver Art Museum.
- She painted John F. Kennedy from 1962 to 1965 after being approached by the Kennedy family.
- After Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, she stopped work on the portrait for months and completed it in 1965.
- Her Basketball Players (c. 1981) drew on over thirty years of observing basketball games.
- In 1876, a visit to Paris's Luxembourg Garden inspired her Bacchus series, for which she first used acrylic paint.
Entities
Artists
- Elaine de Kooning
- Willem de Kooning
- Lee Krasner
- Jackson Pollock
- Margaret Randall
- John F. Kennedy
- Harry S. Truman
- El Greco
- Cy Twombly
Institutions
- The National Portrait Gallery
- Denver Art Museum
- University of New Mexico
- Metropolitan Museum
- Obelisk Art History
- NPR
- Mutual Art
- New Georgia Encyclopedia
- The Collector
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Virginia
- Mexico
- Paris
- France
- Luxembourg Garden
- Washington, D.C.