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Label Text Along with Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning was a central figure in the American art movement Abstract Expressionism. He is best known for his abstract figure paintings on the theme of "woman" created in the 1950s and 60s. On a trip to Rome in 1969, when de Kooning was 65 years old, he modeled his first sculptures and over the next five years made about 25 bronze figures using the same gestural techniques and expressionist style of his earlier paintings. Reclining Figure captures the immediacy of the artist's hands pushing the clay around, implying action, emotional energy, and the gestures of the human body. While highly abstract, the woman's figure can be seen in the suggestion of an arm propping up a body and a leg kicking in the air.
Published References"John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park", Lea Rosson DeLong, ed., Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, 1923, pp. 54-55, details pp. 10, 56, 57
DimensionsOverall: 68 × 140 × 96 in., 4000 lb. (172.7 × 355.6 × 243.8 cm, 1814.4 kg.)
Accession Number 2015.11
Classificationssculpture
CopyrightARS
Inscriptionsde Kooning 1969-83
Edition3/7
Provenance(Matthew Marks Gallery); John and Mary Pappajohn [purchased from previous, 2002]; Des Moines Art Center [gift from previous, 2015]

Images (1)

Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines

Audio (1)

Reclining Figure
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Willem de Kooning
1970
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Willem de Kooning
1970
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Willem de Kooning
1970
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Elaine De Kooning
1985
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Richard Serra
1986
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
William Tucker
1985
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Judith Shea
1990
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Joel Shapiro
1985
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Barry Flanagan
1997
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Louise Bourgeois
1997