Rijksmuseum hosts de Kooning exhibition from 9 October
Published on 10/04/2026 at 05:39 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Rijksmuseum and Willem de Kooning at work open together in Amsterdam on 9 October 2026, beginning a temporary exhibition that runs until 17 January 2027. The presentation brings more than 120 works into the museum, including drawings, paintings and sculptures.
Willem de Kooning at work opens on 9 October
The exhibition is a collaboration between the Rijksmuseum, the Art Institute of Chicago and The Willem de Kooning Foundation in New York. It presents a retrospective of de Kooning's drawings alongside selected paintings and sculptures. The Rijksmuseum exhibition page gives the opening date as 9 October 2026 and the closing date as 17 January 2027.
The drawings follow the artist's development across more than 65 years, from early student work to rapid charcoal sketches. The display also includes Excavation from 1950 and Pink Angels from around 1945, as well as two paintings in the Gallery of Honour: Woman I and Woman and Bicycle.
De Kooning's drawings meet the Night Watch
The Gallery of Honour places the two de Kooning paintings close to Rembrandt's Night Watch. That arrangement connects a twentieth-century American art story with the Dutch masters that define one of the museum's central galleries.
De Kooning was born and raised in Rotterdam in 1904 and travelled to America in 1926. He later became a key figure in the New York School, while resisting attempts to place his work in one fixed artistic category. The exhibition therefore links his changing methods with a building already organised around major movements and artists.
The museum's visitor information places the building on Museumplein in central Amsterdam and identifies the Gallery of Honour and the Night Watch gallery among its main areas. The venue and exhibition listing also confirms Museumstraat 1 as the address.
What the new exhibition adds to the Amsterdam visit
The exhibition treats drawing as a central part of de Kooning's practice rather than simply as preparation for paintings. Visitors will see drawings beside works in other media, making the relationship between his sketches, paintings and sculptures part of the presentation itself.
Two further elements extend the exhibition beyond the galleries. A catalogue edited by the Art Institute of Chicago presents new research on the drawings, while a Rijksmuseum publication follows the artist's trajectory. The museum also lists a drawing workshop at the Teekenschool and an audiotour alongside the exhibition.
Visiting Rijksmuseum: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Willem de Kooning at work runs at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam from 9 October 2026 until 17 January 2027.
- The exhibition occupies the museum and adds Woman I and Woman and Bicycle to the Gallery of Honour near the Night Watch.
- The venue is on Museumplein at Museumstraat 1 in central Amsterdam, alongside the museum's Gallery of Honour and Night Watch gallery.
- The presentation includes more than 120 works and spans drawings, paintings and sculptures, so the visitor route covers several media rather than drawings alone.
Searching for Rijksmuseum on social platforms
These links open searches for Rijksmuseum on each platform.
Frequently asked questions about Rijksmuseum
When does Willem de Kooning at work take place at Rijksmuseum?
The exhibition begins on 9 October 2026 and runs until 17 January 2027.
What is included in Willem de Kooning at work?
The exhibition includes more than 120 drawings, paintings and sculptures, with Woman I and Woman and Bicycle displayed in the Gallery of Honour.
Where is Rijksmuseum and how do you get there?
Rijksmuseum is on Museumplein at Museumstraat 1 in central Amsterdam.
