Untitled

1935

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.