Willem de Kooning

About

Abstract expressionist painter whose best-known works included "Woman I," "Attic," and "Excavation." His first solo show was in 1948 at the Charles Egan Gallery.

Before Fame

He worked as an assistant to the art director at a Rotterdam department store during the 1920s. He also developed a passion for jazz after visiting the Savoy Ballroom several times in 1932 with muralist David Margolis.

Trivia

His painting, "Woman III," sold for a staggering $137 million in 2006.

Family Life

He was born into the working-class family of Leendert de Kooning and Cornelia Nobel; he lived with his mother following his parents' 1907 divorce. He married Elaine Marie Fried in 1943.

Associated With

He and Jackson Pollock were both abstract expressionists associated with the New York School; other painters in the school included Clyfford Still, Anne Ryan, and Adolph Gottlieb.