The Rijksmuseum is celebrating Willem de Kooning with the largest exhibition in Europe in more than 40 years. Featuring over 120 works, ‘Willem de Kooning at work’ is the largest de Kooning exhibition in Europe since 1984. This groundbreaking exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of the artist’s drawings, complemented by some of his most famous paintings and sculptures. Two paintings by de Kooning are on display in the Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of Honour alongside works by Rembrandt and other Dutch masters. The exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of de Kooning’s departure from the Netherlands for the USA.
Image above: Willem de Kooning Untitled (Three Women), c. 1948 Matte opaque paint (possibly oil) with fine particulate filler, enamel, carbon transfer drawing, charcoal, and graphite pencil on card stock, mounted on secondary support, 51,9 x 66,8 cm Collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, gift of Mrs. Richard Deutsch (Katherine W. Sanford, class of 1940), 1953.2.5 © 2026 The Willem de Kooning Foundation, Pictoright, Amsterdam.
A hundred years after Willem de Kooning left Rotterdam to start a new life in New York, the Rijksmuseum is bringing the artist back to the Netherlands with the exhibition *Willem de Kooning at work*, the largest exhibition dedicated to him in Europe for over 40 years.
Featuring more than 120 works, the Rijksmuseum’s groundbreaking exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of his work in drawing, complemented by a selection of de Kooning’s most famous paintings and sculptures. The drawings trace the development of a modern master who transformed art, and offer a fascinating insight into the practice of an artist who was constantly seeking renewal. During the exhibition, two of de Kooning’s most iconic paintings – Woman I and Woman and Bicycle – will also be on display in the Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of Honour, amongst the great masters of Dutch painting.
Willem de Kooning at work will run from 9 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago and The Willem de Kooning Foundation in New York. It has been made possible thanks to the support of The Willem de Kooning Foundation, Vriendenloterij, Ammodo Art, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Blockbusterfonds, the Rijksmuseum International Circle, Rijksmuseum Friends and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
WILLEM DE KOONING AT WORK
‘Willem de Kooning at Work’ is the first exhibition to focus on the artist’s entire body of drawings, bringing together more than 120 iconic works. The exhibits include Reclining Nude (Juliet Browner) (c. 1934–1938), Itinerant Chapel (1951) and Woman in a Rowboat (c. 1964–1965), all from private collections, as well as Abstraction (1949–1950, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza), Pink Angels (c. 1945, Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation) and Woman (1983, Museum Ludwig).
The exhibition traces Willem de Kooning’s artistic development over a period of more than 65 years, using his drawings as a guide. For de Kooning, drawing was not a preparatory step – it was the very foundation of his creative work. By presenting rarely exhibited drawings alongside key works from international collections, such as Excavation (1950, Art Institute of Chicago) and Clam Diggers (1963, private collection), the exhibition demonstrates how themes such as the human figure and the landscape run through his entire body of work.
Taken together, these works reveal an artist who was constantly seeking new possibilities and continually reinventing himself. The creative process itself became the very heart of his work. We see how de Kooning sketches, experiments, revises, repeats and surprises – occasionally even himself. The spectrum ranges from seemingly fleeting pencil and charcoal drawings, through works he created with his eyes closed, to works in which the boundaries between drawing and painting are completely dissolved.
ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMME FOR THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition is accompanied by two publications – a catalogue and a book. The catalogue, published by the Art Institute of Chicago, presents new research findings and offers an in-depth overview of Willem de Kooning’s drawings. The book, published by the Rijksmuseum, is aimed in particular at art lovers who are discovering de Kooning for the first time or who wish to familiarise themselves with the artist once again.
The programme of events accompanying the exhibition includes a masterclass on the history of modern art, a drawing workshop at the Rijksmuseum’s education centre (Teekenschool) and an audio guide.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Friday, 9 October 2026 – Sunday, 17 January 2027
Opening hours: Sunday – Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm
WHERE?
Rijksmuseum
Museumstraat 1
1071 XX Amsterdam
Netherlands
