Lithograph By Elaine de Kooning (1918 - 1989) Original Signed. Willem de Kooning

Rare Lithograph from the series 'Fighting Bulls'. The personal message makes it a special piece, she rarely added a message to her signature! "Homage to Lascaux", 1984, number 53 of 100. Lithograph size: 29 cm x 38 cm.

Elaine de Kooning was a prominent American painter. A major figure in both the Abstract Expressionist and American Figurative Expressionist movements of 1940–1950s, her paintings feature loose, thick brushstrokes in bold hues executed in an energetic, improvisational mode. “A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun,” she famously declared, “an event first and only secondarily an image.” Highly noted for her skill as a portraitist, she often painted friends and contemporary figures, notably including a commissionto paint President John F. Kennedy.

Born on March 12, 1918 in Brooklyn, NY, she went on to study at Hunter College and the American Artists School. De Kooning quickly gained prominence in the burgeoning art scene, becoming a member of the infamous Eighth Street Club alongside Franz Kline, Clyfford Still, and Hans Hofmann, solidifying her place within the canon of American Expressionism.

During her mid-20s, she married the fellow painter Willem de Kooning, with whom she maintained a long and often tumultuous relationship.She is regarded as being instrumental in developing contemporary American art, shaping young artists through several teaching positions held at influential institutions like the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University. De Kooning died on February 1, 1989 in Southampton, NY.