Willem de Kooning, Late Paintings

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Dutch-American painter Willem de Kooning was a first generation Abstract Expressionist. Starting as an "angry young man" in the 1930s, he is best known for his Women series-a subject he pursued from the beginning to the end of his career. In the 1970s he began to make sculptures.At a ripe old age, de Kooning's furor made way for a quiet, almost conceptual art of painting that is nevertheless full of suspense. Heading in a new direction, his works became more drawing-like, with a preference for primary colors, eventually including pastel colors to the palette. Bridging the gap to Minimalism, he never abandoned gestural forms.This volume is the first to focus on Willem de Kooning's late paintings, with essays by Julie Sylvester and David Sylvester. It accompanies a travelling exhibition starting at the Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg in summer 2006 and presenting 24 works, most of which have never been seen before.