Willem de Kooning’s drawing hand takes centre stage at the Rijksmuseum
Editors ·
Willem de Kooning at Work has been open since 9 October. More than 120 works trace his drawn oeuvre across over 65 years, alongside paintings and sculptures.
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A century after Willem de Kooning left Rotterdam for New York, the Rijksmuseum has opened a major exhibition devoted to his work. Willem de Kooning at Work opened on 9 October and runs through 17 January 2027.
The presentation brings together more than 120 works and, according to the Rijksmuseum, offers the first extensive overview in the Netherlands of De Kooning’s drawn oeuvre. Paintings and sculptures complement the selection, which spans more than 65 years. The exhibition was organised with the Art Institute of Chicago and The Willem de Kooning Foundation.
De Kooning (1904–1997) left Rotterdam for New York in 1926 as a stowaway aboard a cargo ship. The Rijksmuseum uses the centenary of that journey as a point of entry into the long development of his drawings and other work.
Two of his paintings, Woman I (1950–1952) and Woman and Bicycle (1952–1953), hang in the Gallery of Honour near The Night Watch. The exhibition also includes works such as Excavation (1950) and Pink Angels, from around 1945, alongside later pieces.
The Rijksmuseum developed the exhibition with exhibition designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Irma Boom Office, responsible for the graphic design. It is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm at Museumstraat 1 in Amsterdam.
Admission for adults costs €25; visitors aged 18 and under enter free. The museum also lists a Sunday drawing workshop for participants aged 16 and over, plus lunchtime lectures on selected dates in November, December and January.