Willem de KooningAmerican, 1904–1997Untitled
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Whitney Museum of American Art
New York, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- Source
- The museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 77.34
In the catalog
Sources
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Image: Whitney Museum of American Art — © the artist or rights holder
Meanwhile, in the life of Willem de Kooning
The whole life1935
Murals for the Federal Art Project
In 1935 De Kooning was employed in the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration and designed a number of murals, including some for the Williamsburg Federal Housing Project in Brooklyn. None was executed, but a sketch for one was included in “New Horizons in American Art” at the Museum of Modern Art, his first group show.
1937
Leaves the Federal Project: no citizenship
In 1937 De Kooning had to leave the Federal Art Project because he did not have U.S. citizenship, and he began to work full-time as an artist, earning income from commissions and by giving lessons.
1938
Meets Elaine Fried
In 1938 her teacher introduced Elaine Fried, then 20 and an admirer of Willem’s work, to the 34-year-old De Kooning in a Manhattan cafeteria. He began to teach her drawing and painting in his loft on West 21st Street, sternly demanding precise linear definition, and destroyed many of her drawings, which impelled Elaine to strive for both precision and grace.
