polity united states cold warconcept:era modern
Interchange
Oil on canvas by Willem de Kooning, 1955. A large-format abstract oil transitioning from the Women series to the abstract landscape works. Loose, expansive gestural strokes in yellows, pinks, and whites suggest both figure and landscape without fixing either. Sold privately by David Geffen to hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin in 2015 for approximately $300,000,000 — widely reported as the world record private sale price for a work of art at that time.
Scholarly Significance
Represent de Kooning's post-Women abstract landscape period and the world private sale record with Interchange (1955) — reportedly sold for approximately $300M in 2015.
Notes
- ·Interchange marks the transition in de Kooning's work from the confrontational figuration of the Women series to the more open, expansive abstract paintings of the mid-to-late 1950s, including Gotham News (1955–56) and Easter Monday (1955–56).
- ·The title suggests both the highway interchange (a new landscape feature of 1950s America) and an exchange or interplay between figure and ground, painting and landscape.
- ·The 2015 sale price of approximately $300,000,000 was widely reported as the world record for a private sale of a work of art. The price has since been surpassed.
- ·Griffin simultaneously purchased Number 17A (1948) by Jackson Pollock from Geffen for approximately $200M in the same transaction, making the combined deal approximately $500M.
- ·The dimensions listed are approximate and require verification.