Elaine de Kooning Enter a
feeling, not
a gallery.
Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
Elaine de Kooning
Early Life and Education Born: Elaine Marie Catherine Fried, March 12, 1918, in Flatbush, New York Died: February 1, 1989, in Southampton, New York Parents: Mary Ellen O'Brien (Irish Catholic) and Charles Frank Fried (Protestant of Jewish descent) Early exposure to art through museum visits and painting reproductions. Attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. Briefly attended Hunter College in New York Cit
y. Studied at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School and the American Artists School. Worked as an art school model to support herself. Relationship with Willem de Kooning and Artistic Development Met Willem de Kooning in 1938; he became her mentor and instructor. Married Willem de Kooning in 1943. Shared studio spaces throughout their relationship. Their marriage was characterized by an open relationship and mutu…