Lily Pond

Artist Willem de Kooning (American, 1904-1997)

Date1959

DimensionsPainting: 70 5/16 × 80 1/8 in. (178.6 × 203.5 cm)
Frame: 70 5/16 × 80 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (178.6 × 203.5 × 3.8 cm)

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1972.32

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 05

Label TextWhile celebrated as a leading figure in gestural Abstract Expressionist painting, Willem de Kooning moved toward figuration and representation in the late 1950s. Disenchanted by the city and the changing New York City art world, de Kooning frequently sought refuge in rural Long Island. Inspired by the open expanses and sunlight of his surroundings, he created works such as Lily Pond. Watching the landscape racing by while riding in the car to and from Long Island influenced De Kooning’s painting style. Here he uses broad, assured brush strokes that appear to rush across the canvas. Forms overlap and veils of color painted over wet color enhance the sensation of light and space. Distilling the color palette, de Kooning indicates the pond’s water, grass, and sky, but instead of portraying a static landscape, he sought to render the fleeting sensation and feeling of a landscape.Published ReferencesT. Hess, Willem de Kooning, New York, 1959, fig. 155 (as Untitled; incorrect dimensions).

R. Phillips, "Abstract Expressionism," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, XIX, no. 4, 1977, pp. 92, 95, pl. II (col.).

The Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, American Paintings, Toledo, 1979, p. 40, pl. 262.

Yard, Sally, Willem de Kooning, Barcelona, 1997, p. 73, 77, fig. 58 (col.), p. 74.

Duncan, Sally Anne, Otto Wittmann: Museum Man for All Seasons, Toledo, 2001, p. 20.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 329, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryNew York, Sidney Janis Gallery, Willem de Kooning, 1959.

Beverly Hills, Paul Kantor Gallery, De Kooning, 1961, repr.

Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, William de Kooning, 1979, no. 29, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, Everything is Rhythm: Mid-Century Art & Music, April 6, 2019-February 23, 2020.