Charging Bull

Details

ELAINE DE KOONING (1918-1989)
Charging Bull
signed with the artist's initials 'E. de K.' (lower right)
oil on Masonite
23 ½ x 28 ½ in. (60 x 72.4 cm.)
Painted in 1959.

Provenance

Graham Gallery, New York
Stephen Cabot Barnes Harvey, San Francisco
Private collection
Anon. sale; Sotheby's, New York, 6 October 2005, lot 38
Private collection
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Exhibited

Chicago, Holland-Goldowsky Gallery, Themes of the Bull, May 1960.
Fort Worth, Ellison Gallery, Themes of the Bull, October 1960.
New York, Graham Gallery, Arena, December 1960.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

"For others, the bull, the center of the conflict, would be the image of darkness overcome by the forces of light. For [de Kooning], the bull is the hero. And sometimes the bull does win and need never burst, with tiny-ankled feet, into the arena again."
—(L. Campbell, "Elaine de Kooning Paints a Picture," ARTnews, no. 59, vol. 8, December 1960, p. 40)

Charging Bull

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Lot Essay

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