Independent 20th Century: Elaine de Kooning: Bacchus
Olney Gleason is pleased to participate in Independent 20th Century with a focused presentation of work by Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989). On Booth 309, the gallery will display a selection of paintings from de Kooning’s Bacchus series. The presentation coincides with de Kooning’s inclusion in the traveling museum survey Abstract Expressionists: The Women, organized by the American Federation of Arts from the Christian Levett Collection and FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum), France (2025–2027).
De Kooning began her Bacchus series (1976–1983) in Paris, where she frequented the Jardin du Luxembourg. Inspired by the subtle shifts of light and color she encountered against a 19th-century bronze statue of Bacchus, the Roman god of agriculture, wine and fertility, de Kooning created dozens of sketches on her many visits to the park. On each visit she captured the twisting motion of the statue at various times of day—ultimately creating a dynamic body of work that critic Lawrence Campbell would compare to Claude Monet’s paintings of Rouen Cathedral (1892–1894).
The artist completed her first large-scale painting in the series in 1976. Over the next seven years, de Kooning worked through the Bacchus theme prolifically at a variety of scales, returning to Paris on occasion and continuing to sketch at the Jardin du Luxembourg. She began working in acrylic for the first time, a quick drying medium to complement her notoriously rapid painting process. When de Kooning moved to a new studio in East Hampton, New York, in 1978, the surrounding foliage recalled the lush colors she encountered at the Jardin, bringing new inspiration to the series. The works on view at Independent 20th Century reflect the heightened sensitivity to color and gesture that de Kooning explored in the series.
Paintings from de Kooning’s Bacchus series are collected by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, Guild Hall, East Hampton, New York; Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, Massachusetts, and Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia.
The Breuer
945 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Booth 309
VIP Preview Day
Thursday, September 24, 10am-8pm
Public Days
Friday, September 25, 11am-7pm
Saturday, September 26, 11am-7pm
Sunday, September 27, 11am-6pm
