de Kooning,
Willem 1904-97; U.S. painter, born in the Netherlands
See de Kooning in American Heritage Dictionary 4
Dutch-born American painter and leader of the abstract expressionist school. In the 1950s he produced a monumental series entitled Woman, characterized by unrestrained color and a violent treatment of subject matter. His wife, Elaine Fried de Kooning (1920-1989), painted in a variety of styles, often devoting numerous works to a single theme, as in her drawings and portraits of John F. Kennedy.