NEW YORK, N.Y.- The Museum of Modern Art presents the first major museum exhibition devoted to the full scope of the career of Willem de Kooning (American, b. the Netherlands, 1904–1997), widely considered to be among the most important and prolific artists of the 20th century, from September 18, 2011, to January 9, 2012. de Kooning: A Retrospective, which will be seen only at MoMA, provides an unparalleled opportunity to study the artist’s development over nearly seven decades, beginning with his early academic works, made in Holland before he moved to the United States in 1926, and concluding with his final, sparely abstract paintings of the late 1980s. Bringing together nearly 200 works from public and private collections, the exhibition is the first to occupy the Museum’s entire sixth-floor gallery space, totaling approximately 17,000 square feet. The retrospective is organized by John