WILLEM DE KOONING

Description

Willem De Kooning: The Late Paintings, the 1980s is a landmark exhibition catalogue published in 1995 in conjunction with a major retrospective of the artist’s late works organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Walker Art Center. The exhibition later traveled internationally, including to The Museum of Modern Art in New York, showcasing over forty paintings produced by de Kooning between 1981 and 1987 — a period that represents one of the most profound and expressive phases in his long career as an abstract expressionist master.

At this stage of his life, De Kooning’s work evolved from the explosive energy of his earlier years into compositions with a striking formal and emotional range. Many of the late paintings reveal a distilled simplicity and lyrical force, born out of decades of exploration in abstract painting. This volume combines high-quality colour illustrations of these paintings with scholarly commentary and exhibition history, making it a key reference for collectors, students, and historians alike.

Essays in the book were prepared by respected curators and art historians, and the catalogue includes detailed annotations, bibliographical references, and contextual essays on de Kooning’s methodology, influences, and the critical reception of his late work.

Hardback, first edition with full-colour and black-and-white plates throughout, this publication remains an essential document of one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed artists.

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