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Lot Essay
In the early 1980's, Willem de Kooning embarked on a last body of work that forms an outstanding coda to one of the most respected painting oeuvres of the 20th Century. One of de Kooning's most impressive achievements was his ability to continually develop, refine and advance his work over a period of 60 years, yet maintain an unmistakable touch that is instantly recognizable as his own. Never content to settle into one stultifying style, de Kooning vacillated between figuration and abstraction throughout his career.
By 1984, the year of the present lot's creation, de Kooning had succeeded in every artistic arena. His works had been acquired by virtually every contemporary museum throughout the world and been the subject of innumerable exhibitions. In addition to paintings and drawings, he had created significant bodies of work in graphics and sculpture, the latter of which were being executed in a large scale at this time. In the marketplace, de Kooning enjoyed the fruits of selling his work for substantial prices at top international galleries, while paintings from the mid-1950's were setting world records at auction.
At the same time, the late 1970's were troubling times for the artist. De Kooning's alcohol abused was rampant and his health had deteriorated to the point that his wife Elaine, with whom he had separated in the mid-1950's moved to East Hampton to help turn his life around. After a three year period where the artist struggled and created few works, de Kooning began to paint again with his former vigor. "De Kooning began to work more steady and with much greater regularity. By this time he had been completely freed from alcohol. He was no longer taking antidepressants, and the mood swings and lethargy had subsided. The first paintings to be finished that year [1981], make a full break with the style of the prior decade" (R. Storr, Willem de Kooning: The Late Paintings, The 1980s, New York, 1997, p. 16)
Like Claude Monet's late Water Lilies or Henri Matisse's cut-outs, de Kooning embarked on a late flowering of astonishing beauty, brilliant in its simplicity and grace. That these revelatory pictures began with the artist in his late 70s is a sign of the artist's endurance, work ethic and fertile mind. In a series of intimate studio photographs taken by Edvard Lieber, his confidant, secretary and curator, the indefatigable de Kooning is seen continually at work. His sharp mind, high spirits and good humor are clearly evident from the photographs, dispelling any notion of an artist in decline.
The origins of these later paintings can be found in works from the mid-late 1970's when he began a process of pictorial and coloristic simplification. From 1977-1982, the forms became larger, with less color variation and the surface became less scumbled and tortured. The palette becomes more restricted and less visceral.
These developments were taken to their aesthetic conclusion in works like Untitled XVII. The painting has an extraordinary lyrical quality, with sinuous lines cascading over the surface, which remains insistently flat, yet possessing a dynamic fluidity that rescues it from the decorative. The controlled, painterly chaos that had marked the majority of his previous work gives way to the free-flowing line. Variegated and visceral color is given up for primary reds, yellows and blues, executed on a white background. Untitled XVII is a work of supreme confidence and authority, without a hint of tentativeness.
Although the results seem effortless, de Kooning labored mightily over his late works, as he had done throughout his career. "De Kooning has habitually worked and reworked the surfaces of his canvases...More recently, however, de Kooning has formed the habit of scraping down the entire surface, leaving a film of paint as a residue of the first state of working. From this residue, as from his earlier letters or words, he culled images that suggest yet other ways of beginning the painting anew. The process reminded him of his days as a house painter when he and his fellow workers would scrape the paint down to the plaster and begin again" (D. Waldman, as quoted in Willem de Kooning, New York, 1988, p. 136). Although difficult to see in reproduction, the colors of the painting have many subtle tones within them, signs of the artist's previous struggle. The scraping process and underlying layers creates a lush surface, which can be seen most readily in the white passages which often contain delicate shades of pink.
One of the biggest reasons for the change in de Kooning's paintings from the 1980s is that he simply stopped working on them sooner than he had done in the past. "Instead of working over and destroying painting after painting on the same canvas as he had done earlier, he would now allow each painting to remain in its immediacy, moving on to the next with a rapidity unprecedented in his work" (Storr, p. 28).
De Kooning's deliberate and pain-staking approach was not conducive to canvases of overblown dimensions. The 80 x 70 inch format was de Kooning's favorite size at this time and he rarely worked larger. Unlike his Abstract Expressionist colleagues and their endless acolytes, for the most part de Kooning remained an easel painter. As de Kooning remarked, "If I stretch my arms next to the rest of myself and wonder where my fingers are--that is all the space I need as a painter" (W. de Kooning, as quoted in Willem de Kooning, New York, 1951, n.p.).
Although de Kooning remained a consistent painter throughout the 1980s, his paintings from 1984 are arguably his most accomplished of the decade. Works such as Untitled XVII have a presence and a dynamism that rival his best works of any period. "Particularly in the works from 1984, the results are paintings of an openness and freedom not seen before, paintings that are extraordinarily lyrical, immediately sensual, and exhilarating. Of all the paintings of the 1980s, they are the most diaphanous and drawinglike" (Storr, p. 28).
Illustration from Edvard Lieber, Willem de Kooning: Reflections in the Studio, 2000, c Edvard Lieber
Illustration from Edvard Lieber, Willem de Kooning: Reflections in the Studio, 2000, c Edvard Lieber
By 1984, the year of the present lot's creation, de Kooning had succeeded in every artistic arena. His works had been acquired by virtually every contemporary museum throughout the world and been the subject of innumerable exhibitions. In addition to paintings and drawings, he had created significant bodies of work in graphics and sculpture, the latter of which were being executed in a large scale at this time. In the marketplace, de Kooning enjoyed the fruits of selling his work for substantial prices at top international galleries, while paintings from the mid-1950's were setting world records at auction.
At the same time, the late 1970's were troubling times for the artist. De Kooning's alcohol abused was rampant and his health had deteriorated to the point that his wife Elaine, with whom he had separated in the mid-1950's moved to East Hampton to help turn his life around. After a three year period where the artist struggled and created few works, de Kooning began to paint again with his former vigor. "De Kooning began to work more steady and with much greater regularity. By this time he had been completely freed from alcohol. He was no longer taking antidepressants, and the mood swings and lethargy had subsided. The first paintings to be finished that year [1981], make a full break with the style of the prior decade" (R. Storr, Willem de Kooning: The Late Paintings, The 1980s, New York, 1997, p. 16)
Like Claude Monet's late Water Lilies or Henri Matisse's cut-outs, de Kooning embarked on a late flowering of astonishing beauty, brilliant in its simplicity and grace. That these revelatory pictures began with the artist in his late 70s is a sign of the artist's endurance, work ethic and fertile mind. In a series of intimate studio photographs taken by Edvard Lieber, his confidant, secretary and curator, the indefatigable de Kooning is seen continually at work. His sharp mind, high spirits and good humor are clearly evident from the photographs, dispelling any notion of an artist in decline.
The origins of these later paintings can be found in works from the mid-late 1970's when he began a process of pictorial and coloristic simplification. From 1977-1982, the forms became larger, with less color variation and the surface became less scumbled and tortured. The palette becomes more restricted and less visceral.
These developments were taken to their aesthetic conclusion in works like Untitled XVII. The painting has an extraordinary lyrical quality, with sinuous lines cascading over the surface, which remains insistently flat, yet possessing a dynamic fluidity that rescues it from the decorative. The controlled, painterly chaos that had marked the majority of his previous work gives way to the free-flowing line. Variegated and visceral color is given up for primary reds, yellows and blues, executed on a white background. Untitled XVII is a work of supreme confidence and authority, without a hint of tentativeness.
Although the results seem effortless, de Kooning labored mightily over his late works, as he had done throughout his career. "De Kooning has habitually worked and reworked the surfaces of his canvases...More recently, however, de Kooning has formed the habit of scraping down the entire surface, leaving a film of paint as a residue of the first state of working. From this residue, as from his earlier letters or words, he culled images that suggest yet other ways of beginning the painting anew. The process reminded him of his days as a house painter when he and his fellow workers would scrape the paint down to the plaster and begin again" (D. Waldman, as quoted in Willem de Kooning, New York, 1988, p. 136). Although difficult to see in reproduction, the colors of the painting have many subtle tones within them, signs of the artist's previous struggle. The scraping process and underlying layers creates a lush surface, which can be seen most readily in the white passages which often contain delicate shades of pink.
One of the biggest reasons for the change in de Kooning's paintings from the 1980s is that he simply stopped working on them sooner than he had done in the past. "Instead of working over and destroying painting after painting on the same canvas as he had done earlier, he would now allow each painting to remain in its immediacy, moving on to the next with a rapidity unprecedented in his work" (Storr, p. 28).
De Kooning's deliberate and pain-staking approach was not conducive to canvases of overblown dimensions. The 80 x 70 inch format was de Kooning's favorite size at this time and he rarely worked larger. Unlike his Abstract Expressionist colleagues and their endless acolytes, for the most part de Kooning remained an easel painter. As de Kooning remarked, "If I stretch my arms next to the rest of myself and wonder where my fingers are--that is all the space I need as a painter" (W. de Kooning, as quoted in Willem de Kooning, New York, 1951, n.p.).
Although de Kooning remained a consistent painter throughout the 1980s, his paintings from 1984 are arguably his most accomplished of the decade. Works such as Untitled XVII have a presence and a dynamism that rival his best works of any period. "Particularly in the works from 1984, the results are paintings of an openness and freedom not seen before, paintings that are extraordinarily lyrical, immediately sensual, and exhilarating. Of all the paintings of the 1980s, they are the most diaphanous and drawinglike" (Storr, p. 28).
Illustration from Edvard Lieber, Willem de Kooning: Reflections in the Studio, 2000, c Edvard Lieber
Illustration from Edvard Lieber, Willem de Kooning: Reflections in the Studio, 2000, c Edvard Lieber