Willem de Kooning was born on April 24, 1904, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He moved to the
United States in 1926 as a stowaway on a British freighter. He soon settled in Hoboken, New
Jersey, where he became close friends with John D. Graham and Arshile Gorky, who were big
influences in his life and artistic career.
De Kooning began working on the WPA ( Works Progress Administration) in October 1935, and
won the Logan Medal of the arts. After this he was employed by a work relief program up until
1937, when he resigned. After this two year period of him employed, he had enough money to
support him self during the early years of the Depression, giving him lots of opportunity to devote
him self to his to his creative work.
Under the influences of Gorky, in 1938 de Kooning started on a series of paintings, all of males
including Two Men Standing, Man, and Seated Figure while also starting some more lyrically
colored abstraction like Pink Landscape and Elegy. As he got better, the heighten colors and
elegant lines of abstraction became more figurative, but the abstractions continued well up in to
the 1940s.
United States in 1926 as a stowaway on a British freighter. He soon settled in Hoboken, New
Jersey, where he became close friends with John D. Graham and Arshile Gorky, who were big
influences in his life and artistic career.
De Kooning began working on the WPA ( Works Progress Administration) in October 1935, and
won the Logan Medal of the arts. After this he was employed by a work relief program up until
1937, when he resigned. After this two year period of him employed, he had enough money to
support him self during the early years of the Depression, giving him lots of opportunity to devote
him self to his to his creative work.
Under the influences of Gorky, in 1938 de Kooning started on a series of paintings, all of males
including Two Men Standing, Man, and Seated Figure while also starting some more lyrically
colored abstraction like Pink Landscape and Elegy. As he got better, the heighten colors and
elegant lines of abstraction became more figurative, but the abstractions continued well up in to
the 1940s.
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