Corinna Thierolf

In 1926, 22-year-old Dutchman Willem de Kooning (1904–1997) travelled to the USA on a British freighter—without papers and hidden in the machine room. The young art student eked out a living by painting houses, signs, and façades, before he was able, after eight years, to dedicate himself entirely to painting. In the United States, he established contacts with the art...