Willem de Kooning American, born Netherlands, 1904–1997
Excavation
1950
Willem de Kooning's 'Excavation' (1950) is a 2 × 2.5 metre canvas considered one of the greatest American paintings of the 20th century. An all-over field of interlocking eyes, teeth, jaws, and body fragments in muted ochres is lashed together by slashing black lines — painted as de Kooning transformed Abstract Expressionism into his own harrowing gestural figuration. It won first prize at the 1951 Venice Biennale and is the most celebrated modern painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Exhibition Venue
Image source: Art Institute of Chicago