1958, Elaine de Kooning, Bull (detail) -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label:
"A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image." -Elaine de Kooning
While many abstract expressionists eschewed recognizable subject matter altogether, Elaine de Kooning frequently blurred the line between abstraction and figure painting. She used energetic, loose brushstrokes to create dynamic portraits of diverse figures, from the choreographer and dancer Merce Cunningham to President John F. Kennedy. In 1957, she was a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and took the opportunity to travel throughout the West. After a visit to Juárez, Mexico, where she attended bullfights, the bull became a central motif in her painting for many years.
1958, Elaine de Kooning, Bull (detail) -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label:
"A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image." -Elaine de Kooning
While many abstract expressionists eschewed recognizable subject matter altogether, Elaine de Kooning frequently blurred the line between abstraction and figure painting. She used energetic, loose brushstrokes to create dynamic portraits of diverse figures, from the choreographer and dancer Merce Cunningham to President John F. Kennedy. In 1957, she was a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and took the opportunity to travel throughout the West. After a visit to Juárez, Mexico, where she attended bullfights, the bull became a central motif in her painting for many years.