.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
“It seems that a lot of artists, when they get older, they get simpler, they feel their own miracle in nature; a feeling of being on the other side of nature” Willem de Kooning (W. de Kooning, quoted in M. Stevens and A. Swann, de Kooning: An American Master, New York, 2013, p. 551).
The undulating curves of Untitled, circa 1970, are reminiscent of de Kooning’s quintessential later style. Gone are the early aggressions of his 1950s Woman paintings, and in its stead are mature and lucid curvatures. De Kooning utilizes the soft traces of charcoal to guide the sensuous and sinuous lines throughout the canvas, while drips of tender purples, pinks, blues, and teals are draped across the painting. As de Kooning says, “I have to keep the paint wet so that I can change [the picture] over and over, I mean do the same thing over, the same thing over, [so] that it will look fluid… and fresh” (W. de Kooning, 1969, quoted in J. Zilczer, Willem de Kooning from the Hirshhorn Museum Collection, exh. cat., Washington, D.C., 1994, p. 167).
It was the year the present lot was painted that Emilie Kilgore met de Kooning at a dinner party and became his lover. Emilie consumed the artist’s every thought, every dream, and his entire being. Her lingering presence can be traced in the affectionate drawing—the nape of her neck, for example, that he would watch on their long bike rides through Long Island. He once wrote to her, “Day after day I have you in front of me. Even if I closeted you away I see your beautiful face. I see you in all other women. Your outlines are in my heart” (W. de Kooning, “Letter to Emilie Kilgore,” quoted in M. Stevens and A. Swann, ibid., p. 560).
The undulating curves of Untitled, circa 1970, are reminiscent of de Kooning’s quintessential later style. Gone are the early aggressions of his 1950s Woman paintings, and in its stead are mature and lucid curvatures. De Kooning utilizes the soft traces of charcoal to guide the sensuous and sinuous lines throughout the canvas, while drips of tender purples, pinks, blues, and teals are draped across the painting. As de Kooning says, “I have to keep the paint wet so that I can change [the picture] over and over, I mean do the same thing over, the same thing over, [so] that it will look fluid… and fresh” (W. de Kooning, 1969, quoted in J. Zilczer, Willem de Kooning from the Hirshhorn Museum Collection, exh. cat., Washington, D.C., 1994, p. 167).
It was the year the present lot was painted that Emilie Kilgore met de Kooning at a dinner party and became his lover. Emilie consumed the artist’s every thought, every dream, and his entire being. Her lingering presence can be traced in the affectionate drawing—the nape of her neck, for example, that he would watch on their long bike rides through Long Island. He once wrote to her, “Day after day I have you in front of me. Even if I closeted you away I see your beautiful face. I see you in all other women. Your outlines are in my heart” (W. de Kooning, “Letter to Emilie Kilgore,” quoted in M. Stevens and A. Swann, ibid., p. 560).