Elaine de Kooning

"I began with fragmentary sketches—first in charcoal, then in casein, sometimes just heads, sometimes the whole figure. For the first session , I sat on top of a 6-foot ladder to get an unimpeded view …"

"When I was five years old, my mother took me to the Metropolitan. I remember being overwhelmed by the hush — the glamor of the place. Also I used to be mesmerized by the stained-glass windows in churc…"

"One of the reasons I was asked to do the portrait is that, with luck, I can start and finish a life-size portrait in one sitting . After years of working on my portraits for months at a time, I found …"

"I was overjoyed when I was taken to a show of the American Abstract Artists Group in '37. They were all alive and they were American! My escort further interested me when he told me the two best abstr…"

"Always when I look at anyone's art, I get flashes of the person. If I walk into a room and there's a painting by Joan Mitchell, I say, "There's Joannie." Or Grace, if it's Grace Hartigan. And to me al…"

"this oral history transcript is the result of a tape-recorded interview with Elaine de Kooning on August 27, 1981; the interview was conducted by Phyllis Tuchman for the Archives of American Art, Smit…"

"When Miss Nochlin says: 'If women have in fact achieved the same status as men in the arts, then the status quo is fine as it is.' Well, I think the status quo in the arts is fine as it is - in this c…"

"I always say I'm an escape artist, Style is something I've always tried to avoid. I'm more interested in character. Character comes out of the work. Style is applied or imposed on it."