Year 1953 Dimensions 1.7 m x 1.2 m Created 1953 | Artist Willem de Kooning Medium Oil on canvas Period Abstract expressionism | |
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Location Private collection of Steven A. Cohen Similar No 5 - 1948, Police Gazette, Woman I, Woman - II, Woman VI | ||
Woman III is a painting by abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. Woman III is one of a series of six paintings by de Kooning done between 1951 and 1953 in which the central theme was a woman. It measures 68 by 48 1⁄2 inches (1.73 by 1.23 m) and was completed in 1953.
From late 1970s to 1994 this painting was part of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art collection, but after the revolution in 1979, this painting could not be shown because of strict rules set by the government about the visual arts and what they depict. Finally, in 1994 it was quietly traded by Thomas Ammann Fine Art to David Geffen for the remainder of the 16th century Persian manuscript, the Tahmasbi Shahnameh.
In November 2006, the painting was sold by Geffen to billionaire Steven A. Cohen for $137.5 million, making it the fourth most expensive painting ever sold.
In popular culture
British electronic music outfit Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark recorded the song "Women III" for their 1985 album Crush.