''Woman III'' is a 1953 painting by

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

painter

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...

. It is one of a series of six ''Women'' paintings done by de Kooning in the early 1950's, which were first exhibited at the

Sidney Janis Sidney Janis (July 8, 1896 – November 23, 1989) was a wealthy clothing manufacturer and art collector who opened an art gallery in New York City, New York in 1948. His gallery quickly gained prominence, for he not only exhibited work by the Abs ...

gallery in 1953. "Woman III" measures and was completed that same year. From late 1970s to 1994 this painting was part of

Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, ( Persian: موزه هنرهای معاصر تهران), also known as TMoCA, is among the largest art museums in Tehran and Iran. It has collections of more than 3,000 items that include 19th and 20th centur ...

collection. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the painting could not be shown because of strict rules set by the government about the visual arts and acceptable subject matter. Finally, in 1994, the painting was acquired by collector

Thomas Ammann Thomas E. Ammann (1950 – 9 June 1993) was a leading Swiss art dealer in Impressionist and twentieth century art, and a collector of post-war and contemporary art. Life Born 1950 in Ermatingen, Switzerland, as the youngest of four children (Eve ...

and subsequently traded to collector

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...

for part of a 16th century Persian manuscript, the ''

Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp The ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp ( fa, شاهنامه شاه‌طهماسب) or Houghton ''Shahnameh'' is one of the most famous illustrated manuscripts of the ''Shahnameh'', the national epic of Greater Iran, and a high point in the art of t ...

''.Murphy, Kim. ''Picasso is hiding in Iran'', Los Angeles Times, 19 September 2007. In November 2006, the painting was sold by Geffen to billionaire

Steven A. Cohen Steven A. Cohen (born June 11, 1956) is an American hedge fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball since September 14, 2020, owning roughly 97.2% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Manageme ...

for $137.5 million. It is currently the fourteenth most expensive painting ever bought, and the only of de Koonings early Woman series not held in a public collection.

Visual Analysis

''Woman III'' is notable within the series for its more muted palette of grays and whites. The body, outlined in arcs of black, is more voluminous than flat as in other ''Women'' paintings; here the chest and arms bulge towards the viewer assertively, and the figure stands decisively apart from the background. The features of Woman III's mask-like face are clearly rendered; the enormous eyes, nose and smile are crudely drawn and framed by slashes of blonde hair.

References

External links

''New York Times'' articleArtnet image page
1953 paintings Paintings by Willem de Kooning Portraits of women {{20C-painting-stub

Visual Analysis

See also

References

External links