Elaine de Kooning believed, “a painting is primarily a verb […] An event first and only second an image.”
Standing Bull embodies that belief with expressive brushstrokes and a rich, colorful palette capturing the life and vibrance of the powerful bull as he stands motionless, confronting onlookers.
It's unsurprising the artist was drawn to the physical nature of painting.
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, De Kooning — born Elaine Fried — split her weekends between baseball, ballet, and visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
De Kooning’s early work — mostly still lifes and portraits — were influenced by Cubism, allowing her to differentiate herself from her husband, prominent Abstract Expressionist Willem De Kooning.
However, by the late 1940s, Elaine’s work was growing more abstract.
After separating from her husband in 1957, De Kooning was invited to the University of New Mexico as a visiting professor.
Inspired by the vast, vivid landscape, De Kooning drove to the bullfights in Juarez, Mexico, and found inspiration.
Sketching from the stands, then returning to her studio to transfer her work to much larger canvases, De Kooning used quick, expressive marks to capture the energy of the bulls and her experience.
Reflecting on her path, De Kooning admitted, “[New Mexico] was a revelation. It was so different from New York […] Suddenly I abandoning gray, and my painting became bright with color. This wonderful space had its effect after those crowded city streets. I'd always painted vertically on rectangular canvases; now I paint horizontally for the feeling of wide spaces."
