The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 1, 2023

Figure

1949

Willem de Kooning

(American, 1904–1997)

America, 20th century

Oil on cardboard

Framed: 55 x 44.5 x 8 cm (21 5/8 x 17 1/2 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 46.7 x 36.8 cm (18 3/8 x 14 1/2 in.)

Contemporary Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1964.1

© The Willem de Kooning Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

De Kooning once famously stated, "Flesh was the reason oil painting was invented."

Description

By using rough, hasty brushstrokes, de Kooning gives us a glimpse into his process. He painted many women during the 1940s and 1950s, each time emphasizing the action of painting in his depictions of the female form.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower left: de Kooning

Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions Press Release,” February 19, 1964, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 200 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 200 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art. Art of the Twentieth Century in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Dept. of Art History & Education, CMA, 1969. Mentioned: p. 3 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 250 archive.org
Exhibition history

CMA, December, 1964: "Year in Review 1964," CMA Bulletin LI (December, 1964), p. 266, no. 163.

Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Museum of Art, October 26, 1979 - January 6, 1980: "Willem de Kooning: Pittsburgh International Series," catalogue no. 13, reproduced p. 44.

CMA, November 1, 1983 - January 8, 1984: "The Figure: deKooning to Warhol," no catalogue

CMA, June 7 - September 8, 1991: "Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum," no catalogue

Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 8 - September 5, 1994: "Willem de Kooning: Paintings," catalogue no. 24, reproduced color p. 123.

Also to: New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 6, 1994 - January 8, 1995; London: The Tate Gallery, February 15 - May 7, 1995

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles 2/10/02-4/24/02; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art 6/15/02-9/8/02; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 9/29/02-1/5/03. "Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure," pl. 27.

Museum of Modern Art, NYC (9/18/2011 - 1/9/2012): "Willem de Kooning Retrospective"

Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965).

Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).

Willem de Kooning: Pittsburgh International Series. Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA (organizer) (October 26, 1979-January 6, 1980).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (February 10-April 28, 2002); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA (June 27-September 8, 2002); National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (September 29, 2002-January 5, 2003).

Willem de Kooning Retrospective. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 18, 2011-January 9, 2012).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.1