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Willem de Kooning

American, born Netherlands, 1904-1997

Gotham News, 1955

oil, enamel, charcoal, and newspaper transfer on canvas

support: 69 x 79 inches (175.26 x 200.66 cm); framed: 71 1/2 x 82 x 3 inches (181.61 x 208.28 x 7.62 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1955

K1955:6

More Details

Inscriptions

signature, undated / upper right / de Kooning

Provenance

acquired by Sidney Janis Gallery, in 1955;
sold to the Albright Art Gallery, December 15, 1955

Class

Paintings

Work Type

Oil painting

This information may change due to ongoing research. Glossary of Terms

While Willem de Kooning's paintings often look as though the artist worked very quickly, the opposite is in fact true. Although he did create his images spontaneously, without preparatory drawings, he placed each mark with careful consideration. The next day he often reworked what he had previously done. Since wet paint is much easier to manipulate, de Kooning often covered the surface at night with newspaper to slow down the drying process. Occasionally the newsprint would transfer to the work’s surface; when this happened, he either painted over it or decided he liked the effect and left it. Gotham News is in some ways an expression of life in New York, where de Kooning was living at the time: crowded, confusing, and violent to some people, while exciting, colorful, and energetic to others. And, for many, this city is a mixture of both these circles of sentiment. "Gotham" is the New York–equivalent setting of the Batman comics, and "News" undoubtedly refers to the newsprint seen on the lower left and top center of the canvas.