Great biography! Really gives insight into the life of such an influential painter. I really liked reading about the New York schools of painting in the 60s and 70s. Includes in-depth critiques of his important paintings as well as descriptions of his contemporaries and their work. Very interesting to read about his personal life as well. A must read for any artist, young or old!

I totally love the artwork of Willem De Kooning, so when I came across this book I knew I had to read it! Plus, it won a Pulitzer Prize so it's gotta be good, right? Well, it was...it's a great read & the insight into this American Artist's work is very well researched. If you love Abstract Expressionism & want to learn more about this era in Art then be sure to grab this book.

It's no spoiler alert to warn you that biographies never have happy endings. They all end in a graveyard. But this one is more depressing than usual, what with his studio assistants propping him up at the end of his life and putting him in front of a canvas and sticking a paintbrush in his hand. Why couldn't they just let him sit in a lounge chair and watch "Three's Company" reruns?

Still plowin' through it...

Great so far, I am learning so much about this great painter.

LOVED IT! It made me really appreciate de Kooning's work and life, as well as other American artists of this time. It's a good size read, and I was worried it might get a bit dry, but I found it engaging the whole way through, as well as very well written. One of the most inspiring books I've read in a long time!

The longest artist’s biography I've ever read, and the best written ever. All of De Kooning's life, his aspirations, his ideas, his fears, his fixations. All the events that helped make him one of the most famous painters of all time; the book tells the story of a Dutch boy at the limits of poverty that made of art all his life, until the last day.

La biografia di un artista più lunga che io abbia mai letto e la meglio scritta in assoluto. Tutta la vita di De Kooning, le sue aspirazioni, le sue idee, le sue paure, le sue fissazioni. Tutti gli eventi che contribuirono a renderlo uno dei pittori più famosi di sempre, il libro racconta di come un ragazzino olandese ai limiti della povertà abbia fatto dell’arte la sua vita, fino all’ultimo giorno.

As a working visual artist, a common question that I get is, "Who is your favorite artist?" That's a difficult question to consider, but my answer is always going to be Willem de Kooning. This masterful biography, the first comprehensive account of de Kooning's life and career, won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2005, and for good reason. Co-authors Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan tell the compelling story of Dutch-born de Kooning, who arrived on these shores in 1926 after stowing away on an America-bound British steamship. Stevens and Swan are wonderful storytellers, and their portrait of de Kooning's epic life and legendary career is vivid and captivating. I especially enjoyed the insightful analyses of de Kooning's paintings & drawings. I've gone back to this book again and again so I can savor the narrative.

Fascinating biography focusing on de Kooning's life, art and the rise of the New York School of abstract expressionism. Although I'm a great lover of the movement, I've never been particularly impressed with de Kooning's oeuvre. This book drills deep into his upbringing, style and psychology to present a deeply compelling character at the heart of American abstract art. The authors also exhaustively uncover the influence of his contemporaries, including his friendship with some of my favorite artists like Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky and Jackson Pollock. Recommended reading for any art lover.

I really fell in love with this book. Its rather long but certainly reads smaller. The story flows together to grab that which you cant explain about interesting people.

I read this for a school project on Willem de Kooning, and I am thoroughly impressed by both how well researched it is and by how well-written it is. It is such a completely picture of his life. That being said, it's a 630 page book about an alcoholic philanderer. Great for research, but not my first thought when it comes to pleasure reading.

I've rarely been so engaged for 1,000 pages.