Born in the Netherlands, into an abusive and destitute family, the young Willem de Kooning shows an exceptional knack for art. At the age of 12 he is hired to work in the renowned decorating company Gidding & Son where he is trained in the arts of mural painting, stained glass and other commercial art specialties. He then studied at the competitive Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques From 1917 to 1921. The school eventually took his name as their own to recognize it's most famous student. In 1920, he dropped out, left his employer. and relocated to Amsterdam, where he thought he had a reasonable chances of becoming a self sufficient artist. After failing at this dream and close to starvation he returns to his hometown of Rotterdam, continues his education, and lands a job as a sign painter, although he still dreams of becoming a successful recognized painter
In 1926 de Kooning left Europe and arranged for hidden illegal passage on the cargo ship SS Shelley destined for America. The trip is hard, lurking in the hot, dark spaces of the engine room. After docking in Virginia, he is secreted onto a small ship headed for Boston, from there he makes his way to New York. In the final leg of the journey he takes a ferry from Manhattan to Hoboken, where he takes a bed at the Dutch Seaman's Home. The residential house is a safe haven for Dutch sailors and gives de Kooning time to recuperate. Unable to speak English, he becomes a house painter which he thoroughly enjoys as an chance to hone his painting skills.
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