Portrait of Elaine de Kooning

Birthday profile

Elaine de Kooning

American painter (1918-1989)

Born
March 12, 1918
Died
February 1, 1989
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1918

About Elaine de Kooning

Elaine Marie Catherine de Kooning ( də KOO-ning, Dutch: [də ˈkoːnɪŋ]; née Fried; March 12, 1918 – February 1, 1989) was an American painter and art critic. A key contributor to the abstract expressionist and Figurative Expressionist movements, she wrote extensively on the art of the period and was an editorial associate for ARTnews magazine. She was married to Dutch-American artist Willem de Kooning from 1943 until her death in 1989, though they were separated for much of that time. She created a series of painting inspired by the theme with bold and bright colors. She particularly admired the sculpture’s twisting, dynamic form, which portrays the commotion created by the drunken god and his equally inebriated attendants.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Elaine de Kooning was born

Elaine de Kooning was born in 1918. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1918

  • Best-selling book"The U.P. Trail" – Zane Grey

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentWorld Series played in September due to WWI
  • Top headlineWorld War I ends — Spanish Flu pandemic begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular airmail service
  • World population~1.78B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population102.0M

1918 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Elaine de Kooning's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19182026
Gas$0.25$3.45/gal
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population102.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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