A fascinating examination of a formative time in the iconic artist’s career

In 1948, Willem de Kooning held his first solo exhibition, at age forty-four, at the Charles Egan Gallery in New York City. Willem de Kooning: The Breakthrough Years explores how the painter developed his distinctive style in the period leading up to the show, blending figuration with abstraction and experimenting with materials such as enamel paint, cardboard, and Masonite.

This beautifully illustrated book features illuminating essays by John Elderfield and Mitra Abbaspour, who closely consider de Kooning’s work during this time, the environment and influences that surrounded him, and the impact of the 1948 exhibition on both his career and the New York School. Lee Colón’s detailed chronology provides invaluable context for the exhibition while Jim Coddington and Bart Devolder’s material study of Black Friday—a painting included in the 1948 exhibition—offers vital perspective on the painter’s working methods.

Featuring paintings and drawings made by the artist between 1945 and 1950 as well as important primary source material, this book sheds critical light on a prolific and formative period in the life and career of an incomparable artist.

Exhibition Schedule

Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton

March 14–July 26, 2026

Distributed for the Princeton University Art Museum