The War Comes Home
As a child in Holland during World War II, Anton van Dalen witnessed the destruction and chaos of war. He trained as a graphic artist in Amsterdam and worked tracing patterns at a wallpaper factory in Canada before taking up painting in the early 1960s. Drawing on this design background, he developed a bold Pop-inflected style characterized by flat planes, strong outlines, extreme spatial recession, and repeated motifs: birds, buildings, and cars, most of all.
Inspired by the works of Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, which he saw reproduced in magazines, van Dalen moved to New York in 1966 and settled in the East Village, where he remained for the rest of his life. His art chronicled the evolution of the community for more than five decades. These works captured the upheaval and gentrification of the neighborhood, exposing deep social crises and transformations. Rampant political corruption, the crack and AIDS epidemics, widespread homelessness, and urban decay with abandoned lots and burned-out buildings reminded him of the devasting environment he had left behind. This monumental painting powerfully casts the East Village of the 1980s as a battlefield, presenting it, according to the artist, as "a replaying of my own war." [1]
[1] David Frankel, Review: "Anton Van Dalen, P.P.O.W.," ArtForum 53 (May 2015).
Inspired by the works of Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, which he saw reproduced in magazines, van Dalen moved to New York in 1966 and settled in the East Village, where he remained for the rest of his life. His art chronicled the evolution of the community for more than five decades. These works captured the upheaval and gentrification of the neighborhood, exposing deep social crises and transformations. Rampant political corruption, the crack and AIDS epidemics, widespread homelessness, and urban decay with abandoned lots and burned-out buildings reminded him of the devasting environment he had left behind. This monumental painting powerfully casts the East Village of the 1980s as a battlefield, presenting it, according to the artist, as "a replaying of my own war." [1]
[1] David Frankel, Review: "Anton Van Dalen, P.P.O.W.," ArtForum 53 (May 2015).
Artwork Details
- Title: The War Comes Home
- Artist: Anton van Dalen (Dutch, Amstelveen 1938–2024 New York City)
- Date: 1982
- Medium: Oil (?) on unstretched canvas
- Dimensions: 94 1/4 in. × 11 ft. 5 in. (239.4 × 348 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of KAWS, 2025
- Object Number: 2025.339
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Piet Mondrian (Dutch, Amersfoort 1872–1944 New York)
1921
Gino Severini (Italian, Cortona 1883–1966 Paris)
1915
Chaim Soutine (French (born former Russian Empire, now Belarus), Smilovitchi 1893–1943 Paris)
ca. 1929
Pierre Bonnard (French, Fontenay-aux-Roses 1867–1947 Le Cannet)
1909
Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) (French, Paris 1908–2001 Rossinière)
1936–37
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.