HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Willem De Kooning was born in 1904 in Rotterdem, the Netherlands. He enrolled in classes at the Rotterdem Academy of Fine Art which he was apprenticed to a commercial art and decorating firm and later, working for an art director. He visited museums in Belgium in 1924 and completed further studies in Brussels and Antwerp.
In 1926 Willem left Europe and arrived in New York City as a stowaway. In 1927 he met Stuart Davis, Arshile Gorky and John Graham who introduced him to Cubism, particularly the work of Pablo Picasso. He took various commercial art jobs as well as e…
