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Black Untitled

Willem de Kooning American, born The Netherlands
1948
Not on view
In 1946, de Kooning began a series of largely black and white paintings that culminated in his first solo exhibition at New York's Charles Egan Gallery in the spring of 1948. His use of synthetic commercial enamel for these works was an economic choice—as he told the critic Harold Rosenberg, "I needed a lot of paint…. I could get a gallon of black paint and a gallon of white paint—and I could go to town." On paper the enamel paint also dried quickly, allowing de Kooning to build up wafer-thin layers of experimental forms without worry that they would blend together. The restricted palette of black and white allowed de Kooning to experiment with a loose, Cubist-style abstraction, but remnants of the human figure remain underneath the swirls of paint.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Black Untitled
  • Artist: Willem de Kooning (American (born The Netherlands), Rotterdam 1904–1997 East Hampton, New York)
  • Date: 1948
  • Medium: Oil and enamel on paper, mounted on wood
  • Dimensions: 29 7/8 × 40 in. (75.9 × 101.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: From the Collection of Thomas B. Hess, Gift of the heirs of Thomas B. Hess, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.613.7
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Zot, Willem de Kooning American, born The Netherlands, Oil on paper, mounted on wood
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Study for Seated Man (Self-Portrait), Willem de Kooning American, born The Netherlands, Graphite on paper
Study for Seated Man (Self-Portrait)
Willem de Kooning
ca. 1939
Untitled, Willem de Kooning American, born The Netherlands, Oil and charcoal on Masonite
Untitled
Willem de Kooning
ca. 1946
Studies of Men, Willem de Kooning American, born The Netherlands, Graphite on paper
Studies of Men
Willem de Kooning
ca. 1939
Untitled (nude), Willem de Kooning American, born The Netherlands, Black chalk on paper
Untitled (nude)
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