Thurs, Jul 23 | 6:00–7:00
Willem de Kooning in his studio, 1965. Photo by Allyn Baum/The New York Times/Redux. Artwork © 2026 The Willem de Kooning Foundation/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Willem de Kooning was always pushing the limits of what so-called “traditional” drawing materials could do. Because he manipulated them so intensively, they often look very different from what we’d expect, which can make them surprisingly hard to identify. To sort out what he actually used and how he worked, we had to combine close looking with scientific analysis, along with archival research and mock-ups of the drawings.
In this conversation held in support of Willem de Kooning Drawings, exhibition conservator Margaret Holben Ellis and Ken Sutherland, Andrew W. Mellon Director of Scientific Research, discuss how their complementary expertise sheds new light on de Kooning’s unconventional use of drawing materials and deepens our understanding of the artist’s studio practice.
Support for this program is provided by the Allan McNab Endowed Fund.
About the Speakers
Margaret Holben Ellis is the Eugene Thaw Professor Emerita of Paper Conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and former director of the Thaw Conservation Center, Morgan Library and Museum. She was awarded fellowships at the American Academy in Rome, Getty Conservation Institute, and Menil Drawing Institute. She has published essays on Lucas Samaras, Jean Dubuffet, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jackson Pollock, and she edited Historical and Philosophical Issues in the Conservation of Works of Art on Paper (Getty Conservation Institute, 2014).
Ken Sutherland is the Andrew W. Mellon Director of Scientific Research in the Art Institute’s Department of Conservation and Science, where his primary research interests concern the characterization of organic materials in artworks. Prior to joining the Art Institute in 2013, Ken was a scientist in the conservation department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a research fellow at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Amsterdam; a postgraduate diploma in conservation of easel paintings from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; and a bachelor of science in biochemistry from the University College London.
If you have any questions about programming, please reach out to [email protected].
Closed captioning will be available for this program. For questions related to accessibility accommodations, please email [email protected].
Sponsors
Willem de Kooning Drawing is made possible through the lead support of The Willem de Kooning Foundation.
Major support is provided by the Harris Family Foundation in memory of Bette and Neison Harris, The Regenstein Foundation Fund, and the Maureen & Edward Byron Smith, Jr. Exhibition Endowment Fund.
Additional support is provided by the Lewis and Susan Manilow Fund and the Allan McNab Endowed Fund.
Members of the Luminary Trust provide annual leadership support for the museum’s operations, including exhibition development, conservation and collection care, and educational programming. The Luminary Trust includes an anonymous donor, Karen Gray-Krehbiel and John Krehbiel, Jr., Kenneth C. Griffin, the Harris Family Foundation in memory of Bette and Neison Harris, Josef and Margot Lakonishok, Liz and Eric Lefkofsky, Ann and Samuel M. Mencoff, Sylvia Neil and Dan Fischel, Cari and Michael J. Sacks, and the Earl and Brenda Shapiro Foundation.
