John Elderfield on Willem de Kooning’s Forgotten Paintings

“I grew up in England and came to the United States first of all in 1970, in part because of de Kooning.” —John Elderfield

Esteemed curator and art historian John Elderfield has a career-long relationship with Willem de Kooning; from the catalogue of the artist’s paintings that encouraged him to move to the U.S., to a handful of meetings with the man, to his recent exhibitions exploring the abstract expressionist master’s ingenuity. On the occasion of his latest show, Gagosian Gallery’s current exhibition, “Willem de Kooning: Ten Paintings, 1983-1985”, Elderfield gave us a tour of the show and insights behind the exquisite, underrepresented works in the exhibition. Watch as Elderfield shares his reverence for de Kooning and these “extraordinarily youthful” paintings from his late period.

“Willem de Kooning: Ten Paintings, 1983-1985” is on view at Gagosian Gallery, 980 Madison Avenue, New York, through Dec. 21st.

Explore “Willem de Kooning: Ten Paintings, 1983-1985” on Artsy.