Elaine de Kooning (1918–1989) was well-known for her fusion of figurative and abstract painting. Her body of work encompassed a vast array of mediums; sculpture, etchings, and ink drawings all showcased her singular ability to combine painting and drawing, surface and contour, and transparency and opacity. She was renowned, meanwhile, for her male portraiture, which includes her emotive drawings of basketball players and her likeness to President John F. Kennedy. Born in Brooklyn, De Kooning first attended Hunter College in New York before deciding to follow Conrad Marca-Relli's tutelage at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School. She also took drawing classes from Willem de Kooning, whom she later married. After spending two transformative months at Black Mountain College, she was immersed in a vibrant community of artists and produced a body of work that reflected the creative energy of the college. After leaving Black Mountain College, de Kooning worked as a writer for Art News and became a member of the avant-garde Greenwich Village club, the Club.

De Koonig’s work has been displayed in numerous prestigious institutions, including the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey and Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, New York. She was also featured in the Museum of Modern Art's "Young American Painters" exhibition (1956–58) and participated in group shows at the Walker Art Center, Art Institute of Chicago, and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others.