Rijksmuseum to Mount Major Willem de Kooning Survey in October
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam will host "Willem de Kooning at Work," the largest European exhibition of the artist's work in four decades, opening in October. Featuring over 120 works, the show traces de Kooning's 65-year career with drawing as its central thread. Landmark pieces include the Art Institute of Chicago's Excavation (1950), MoMA's Woman I (1950–52), and the Whitney's Woman and Bicycle (1952–53), the latter displayed in the Gallery of Honor alongside Old Masters. The survey pairs rarely seen works on paper with major paintings, highlighting experimental techniques like rapid pencil sketches and works made with eyes closed. Concurrently, Fenix in Rotterdam will display three monumental bronze sculptures on its quay from July 18, commemorating the centenary of de Kooning's departure from the Netherlands. De Kooning, born in Rotterdam in 1904, stowed away to the U.S. in 1926, became a key New York School figure, and died in 1997. Market demand for his work is rising: four of his top 10 auction prices occurred in the last five years, with a record $68.9 million for Woman as Landscape (1954–55) at Christie's New York in 2018, a work featured in Gagosian's 2023 de Kooning show curated by Cecilia Alemani.
Key facts
- Rijksmuseum will host 'Willem de Kooning at Work' in October.
- The exhibition is the largest European de Kooning survey in 40 years.
- Over 120 works will be on display.
- Drawing is positioned as the foundation of his practice.
- Key loans include Excavation, Woman I, and Woman and Bicycle.
- Woman and Bicycle will hang in the Gallery of Honor with Old Masters.
- Fenix in Rotterdam will show three bronze sculptures from July 18.
- De Kooning's auction record is $68.9 million for Woman as Landscape.
Entities
Artists
- Willem de Kooning
- Jackson Pollock
- Lee Krasner
- Mark Rothko
- Cecilia Alemani
- Elaine Fried
- David Smith
- Dorothy Dehner
- John Graham
- Stuart Davis
- Arshile Gorky
- Burgoyne Diller
- Judith Zilczer
- Ludo van Halem
- Charles Egan
- Alfred Barr
- Sidney Janis
- Joan Ward
- Lisa de Kooning
- Lucy
- Tom Ferrara
- Pablo Picasso
- Giorgio de Chirico
- Constantin Brancusi
- Chaïm Soutine
- Paul Klee
- Joan Miró
- Henri Matisse
- Adolph Gottlieb
- Barnett Newman
- Robert Motherwell
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Roosevelt
- Elaine de Kooning
- Juliet Browner
- Ruth Kligman
- Man Ray
- Edith Metzger
- Franz Kline
- Robert Mapplethorpe
- Marion Meyer
- Martha Graham
- Rembrandt
- Johannes Vermeer
- Frans Hals
- Jan Gidding
- Jaap Gidding
- Kevin Salatino
- Mel Becker Solomon
- Margaret Holben Ellis
- Charlotte Healy
- Marian Cousijn
- Peter Tijhuis
Institutions
- Rijksmuseum
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Museum of Modern Art
- Whitney Museum
- Fenix
- Gagosian
- High Line Art
- Christie's New York
- Artnet Price Database
- Willem de Kooning Foundation
- Pictoright
- ADAGP
- Federal Art Project
- Work Projects Administration
- Academy of Visual Arts and Technical Sciences of Rotterdam
- Eastman Brothers
- School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Black Mountain College
- Beaux Arts Magazine
- Martha Graham Company
- The Willem de Kooning Foundation
- Hauser & Wirth Collection Services
- Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation
- Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
- Museum Ludwig
- HKU University of the Arts Utrecht
- Willem de Kooning Academy
- Teekenschool
- Academy of Visual Arts and Technical Sciences
- Jan and Jaap Gidding
- Thyssen-Bornemisza
- Weisman Foundation
- Wilmotte & Associés
- Irma Boom Office
Locations
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Rotterdam
- New York
- East Hampton
- United States
- Springs
- Long Island
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Newport News
- Virginia
- Hoboken
- New Jersey
- Manhattan
- Greenwich Village
- Venice
- Italy
- Boston
- Chicago
- Paris
- Museumstraat
- Argentina
- Buenos Aires
- France
- Zurich
- Switzerland
- Poughkeepsie
- Cologne
- America
- Madrid
- Spain