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In conjunction with the upcoming Sotheby's auction in November, a pre-auction presentation of three of the master's paintings was held at the estate once owned by Willem de Kooning (1904-1997). Those lucky enough to attend were able to see the works in the artist's original surviving studio in East Hampton, New York.

At the home of Willem de Kooning

When, in 1963, Willem de Kooning settled in the Springs district of East Hampton, his artistic position was already well established. He already had his first abstract experiments behind him, while in the 1960s he was balancing between figuration and abstraction.

Three paintings by the artist were on display in the house: "Untitled" from around 1979, "Montauk II" from 1969 and "Hat on the Floor" from 1987. The works could be seen in the original studio, which was preserved and designed by the artist. It seems to have been a very good decision, due to the fact that the house itself, as well as the neighbourhood, was very important to the artist himself and influenced his art. Willem de Kooning said that he was inspired by the surrounding landscapes so much that he added the colours he observed on a daily basis to his palette.

The artist and auction records

Willem de Kooning was a Dutch painter who spent most of his life in the United States. He was one of the leading exponents of abstract expressionism. Among his most famous paintings is his "Women series" from the 1950s, which shows partial influences from Picasso's Cubism. It is possible that it was reflections on the work of this particular artist that led de Kooning to his own art, which went a step further - towards "wild expression". The painter's work can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.

Estimates for the paintings to be auctioned at Sotheby's in November are very high - for the painting "Untitled" it is $30 to 40 million, for the work titled "Montauk II" USD 10-15 million, while for the 1987 painting the estimate is USD 9-12 million. The auction record for a de Kooning painting was set in 2018 when a work created between 1954 and 1955 entitled "Woman as Landscape" was sold for a staggering $68.9 million.

Added 2022-09-18 in by Alicja Graczyk

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