Woman I

Woman I
ArtistWillem de Kooning Edit this on Wikidata
Year1950
Mediumoil paint, canvas, metallic paint
Movementabstract expressionism Edit this on Wikidata
Dimensions75.875 in (192.72 cm) × 58 in (150 cm)
Location
Accession478.1953 Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79810

Woman I is a 1950 abstract expressionist painting by American artist Willem de Kooning. The work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, in New York.

History

Willem de Kooning painted Woman I over two years, from 1950 to 1952. He executed numerous preliminary studies before beginning the painting, starting over several times.

Woman I is one of six canvases representing women, painted in a similar style.

Writing in the Guardian, Ben Eastham says: "Scandalous when first exhibited, the accusation that this cartoonish, charismatic and wild figure defames all womankind by its “monstrosity” seems now to rely on some mid-century assumptions about how women should be represented. Whatever you think about Woman I, she could never be mistaken for a submissive sex object or a Stepford wife."

References

  1. ↑ "MoMA | Willem de Kooning. Woman, I. 1950–52". www.moma.org. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ↑ "Action Painting and Willem de Kooning's Woman I". Singulart Magazine. 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  3. ↑ "The strange story behind Willem de Kooning's Woman I | art | Phaidon". www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  4. ↑ Clark, Marlene (2020). The Woman in Me: Willem de Kooning, Woman I-vi. Academica Press. ISBN 978-1-68053-100-8.
  5. ↑ Siegel, Eleanor Kathryn (1990). Willem de Kooning's "woman" Paintings of 1950-53. University of Texas at Austin.
  6. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/oct/08/willem-de-kooning-at-work-review-rijksmuseum-amsterdam