William De Kooning was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on April 24, 1904. He was a famous Abstract Artist of his times. One of his most famous works includes a series of six paintings between 1951 and 1953 with the central theme “Woman”.
“Woman III by William De Kooning,” measuring 68 by 48½ inches, is one of six “Woman” paintings he numbered. The other five are all in world-class museums, all but one in the United States.
What do these paintings mean actually? This is really hard to understand. The art painted by William De Kooning is a form of struggling art which is an outcome of his personal painful experiences. We can only speculate as to what he meant through his paintings. But with the analysis of the events which took place in the life of Willeam De Kooning, we can only bring forth an idea that he was brought up in an unease and fearful environment. William De Kooning painted the Woman III with a torn attitude where he placed the woman as a symbol of perfection with purity. On the other hand, he may regard her as something appropriate to be used for his lust but not worthy of his love or respect.
Till 1994, Woman III by William De Kooning was a part of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and then it was purchased by David Geffen for the remainder of the 16th century manuscript. In November 2006, Woman III was sold by Geffen to an American billionaire Steven A. Cohen for $137.5 million, which made this painting as the third most expensive painting ever sold.