I hated the focus of this book on the petty squalid and sad. This book focuses on de Koonings personal life and says almost nothing about what mattered to De Kooning. If the authors seem to have it in for De Kooning-- well, they are Art Critics after all, so enough said! I suppose one should expect that they would find a way to ignore the fantastic creative insightful stuff that De Kooning was known for.

This book was interesting. I really had zero knowledge de Kooning so I learned a lot. Loved the comparison of the Impressionists to the Abstract Impressionists. There were parts in the book when they talked about Alzheimers that didn't flow with the rest of the book. Almost like the text was inserted later from a bunch of pamphlets. Other than that is was a great book. I am seeing a trend in my reading and its alcoholism. De Kooning had the binge style that ends with a trip to the hospital.

even if you are into de kooning work its still a great immigrant story. also paints a very vivid sense of the ny art scene in the 40s.

recommended by mira hecht

This is a tome. An amazing tome. Engagingly written, well researched, this book "paints" the life of de Kooning. A confession: I decided to read this biography because I was so appalled by de Kooning's Women paintings and wanted to understand the man. Well, perhaps I understand him a bit better in regard to those paintings... but what I really got from this read was the life of a dogged, disciplined, hard-working, aggressive artist who loved art most of all.

A deeply researched and well-written biography, I would perhaps have given de Kooning: An American Master five stars if I hadn’t read it on the heels of Naifeh and Smith’s Jackson Pollock: An American Saga. While both Pulitzer Prize winning biographies, de Kooning’s stands in the shadow of the monolithic work on Pollock, much as de Kooning’s painting was initially eclipsed by Pollock’s. De Kooning, a more variegated and mutable artist than Pollock, proves a fascinating subject, yet the contextual, historical aspect of Stevens and Swan’s work is constrained.

When compared to Pollock’s biography, a specific and detailed accounting of the techniques and schools of thought relevant at the time and a broader description and association of other important artists’ work is missing, especially towards the later period of de Kooning’s life. A passing glance is given to de Kooning’s contemporaries and environment, while unnecessary speculation as to his frame of mind as an immigrant is rampant. In Jackson Pollock: An American Saga, the authors didn’t hesitate to dedicate pages or even chapters to the development of the history of relevant influences and their contributions to the atmosphere of Pollock’s life as a painter. To understand Pollock one must understand the New York he lived in and the artists he brushed up against. These deftly synthesized nonlinear components serve as reinforcement to the life of the artist being portrayed. All this is disappointingly absent from de Kooning’s biography, which is restricted almost entirely to de Kooning’s person in a suffocating, circular way.

Additionally, stating the colors and other obvious visual features of selected works of art is absurd, adding nothing to the understanding of the painting itself when a color photograph is included. This type of cataloguing is more archival than biographical. Highly subjective interpretations dressed up in convoluted language offer little to redeem the practice of literal description. This, however, is more a general criticism of the practice of describing paintings in words than it is of the authors themselves.

a great read. very pulpy, but engrossing and well-written.

I have been on a biography binge and really enjoyed this one. De Kooning was a fascinating guy. I am by no means an expert on modern art, yet I enjoyed learning about the evolution of his style. It felt a bit voyeuristic to read about his personal life, but it was fascinating.

entertaining

Thick book. Didn't get through it but learned a lot about his life and the NY art scene at the time. He was a cool guy and I understand his work much better now.

Although long-winded and long-labored, this exhaustive study of de Kooning is occasionally invigorating.

A terrific biography on one of the most important American painters of the 20th century. I feel like I have a real sense of de Koonig's life as well as his career after reading this; as well as his influences, his turbulent personal life, his struggle with alcoholism, and his relationships with other writers. A few years back I read the Pollack bio and was intrigued by the friendly yet competitive friendship between these two artists. Stevens really explores this aspect, as well as offers insightful analysis of how de Koonig's family and childhood informed the rest of his life. Fascinating.