c. 1950-51 (SOLD)

Graphite on paper

14 x 14 inches (35.6 x 35.6 cm)

Ex-collection:
The Artist
Elaine de Kooning and her estate
By descent until 2011

About the Painting:
Between 1950 and the first part of 1955 De Kooning spent most of his time painting and drawing women torsos with their female features exaggerated (large breasts and hips). Many pencil and pastel drawings were made. On canvas he started working on Woman I in 1950 and kept changing the image till he was ultimately satisfied in 1952. In 1953 the Woman I-VI series and the pastels were exhibited at the Sydney Janis gallery as paintings on the theme of women. In these paintings the staight brush strokes are dominant with much variaty in the use of colours. The expressive power and audacity of the series had a smashing impact.