Willem de Kooning at work

He was twenty-two when he left Rotterdam as a stowaway. No papers, knowing only one word of English, chasing his own American Dream. Fifty years later, Willem de Kooning was considered one of the most important artists of his time. This autumn, he returns to the Netherlands with a major retrospective exhibition. From 9 October 2026 to 17 January 2027, the Rijksmuseum, together with the Art Institute of Chicago, presents the first comprehensive overview of Willem de Kooning's (1904-1997) drawings ever shown in the Netherlands. Drawing as foundation: De Kooning drawings are not studies for paintings. For him, drawing was a way to explore through sketching, correcting, repeating, and deliberately surprising himself. He liked to say, "I have to change to stay the same" (1981), and so his art never stood still.