Who is Elaine de Kooning? and why she's an absolute abstract expressionist queen --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elaine de Kooning was a prominent abstract expressionist artist who was practically raised in the arts. As a child living in New York, her mother was always taking her and her siblings to art museums and theaters, instilling a love for the arts that (obviously) greatly impacted de Kooning. Her earlier works were mainly watercolors before she moved onto still-lifes that mixed abstraction with mythology, primitive symbols, and realism. She was also impacted by different cultures and artistic styles as she was an avid traveler and loved to experiment not only with techniques, but also materials and subject matter. de Kooning was married to Willem (aka Bill) de Kooning, another well known contributor to the abstract expressionist movement and they helped each other grow as artists. However, as people they struggled tremendously. With the initial lack of money, alcoholism, and an open marriage, the couple had more than a few issues causing them to separate for about a decade. Later on in her life she worked as an art professor and drop in lecturer in many colleges and also contributed to the art world in this way. She unfortunately died at the age of 68 in New York due to lung cancer from terrible chain smoking habits but made a lasting impact on the art community with her unique style and take on abstract expressionism. read: This is a link to some of her more well known/important works- www.theartstory.org/artist-de-kooning-elaine.htm This article is written by de Kooning and details her process when creating John F. Kennedy- www.artnews.com/2015/04/10/a-president-seen-from-every-angle-elaine-de-kooning-on-painting-jfk-in-1964/ watch: This video gives more info on de Kooning as an artist questions: 1. Which out of the six paintings on the website do you think made the greatest impact on/marks the beginning of de Kooning's typical art style and why? 2. Why did it take so long to complete the portrait of JFK? 3. What made Elaine such an important abstract expressionist? more info (not needed for questions):
Watch de Kooning paint a portrait and listen to what she thinks of portraiture (fun fact it's kinda long but really neat to see her thought and artistic process!): www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/needs-to-be-moved/elaine-de-kooning-paints-a-portrait/
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AuthorNatalie Kim is a senior at MLWGS who likes to do art, take pics, and pet puppers. Archives
May 2020
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