Our Approach
Our Story
In 1975, Elaine de Kooning reconciled with Willem and purchased the house on Alewive Brook Road. She added the studio three years later and created her last important bodies of work -- the Cave Walls and Cave Paintings (1985-88). She also painted the commissioned portrait of the Brazilian soccer player Pele and according to her assistant from that time, Barry Gordy’s portrait was completed in the studio as well as others.
After her death, the sculptor John Chamberlain owned the house and studio, followed by the painter Richmond Burton. Since 2011, the Elaine de Kooning House has hosted events, exhibitions, and informal artist residencies.
Photos by Joe Bondo, Petita Cole, Bill Durgin, Daniel Gonzalez, Gerald McCarthy, Katherine McMahon, Amy Pilkington, and Ryan Wallace.