Willem de Kooning, an abstract expressionist who became one of the 20th century's greatest painters, died in his studio Wednesday. He was 92.
De Kooning's works stressed the depiction of emotion through shapes and colors, incorporating traces of the surrealist movement and pre-figuring pop art.His meticulously composed 1944 "Pink Lady," sold for $3.63 million in 1987. Two years later his 1955 masterpiece "Interchange" sold for a stunning $20.6 million.
De Kooning painted daily until the late 1980s, even after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In 1989, after a bitter court fight, he was declared mentally incompetent and control of his estate was given to his attorney and his daughter, Lisa, his only survivor.
His first one-man show came in 1948 at age 44. His "Excavation" won the major prize at the Art Institute of Chicago's 1951 exhibition.
In the 1950s, de Kooning returned to the figure, working for three years on "Woman I," which was bought by the Museum of Modern Art.
De Kooning never considered the work finished, or even a success, but it became the most reproduced work of art in the 1950s, and other "Woman" paintings followed.
"Flesh, was the reason why oil painting was invented," de Kooning once said.