Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) was a Dutch-born American artist who began his foray into painting as an adolescent when he was hired by a design and decorating firm at the age of twelve. He went on to attend the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts, where he trained in drawing as a supplement to the professional instruction he received in traditional guild and crafting practices.

De Kooning made his journey to America in 1926 as a stowaway on an Argentina-bound ship, disembarking when the freighter docked in Virginia. He settled first in New Jersey and eventually moved to Manhattan in 1927, working as a carpenter and house painter to sustain himself while dedicating his free time to painting. He became a de facto member of the unofficial American Abstract artist group after Graham took an interest in his career, introducing him to other young artists in the downtown Manhattan scene—one of them was Arshile Gorky, who would quickly become one of de Kooning’s closest friends and source of inspiration. De Kooning met painter Elaine Fried (1918-1989) in 1938 through an instructor at the American Artists School, and the two were married in 1943. Both artists became instrumental in pushing the Abstract Expressionist movement to the forefront of the avant-garde in American art.