Alex KatzPortraits: Jessica2002
2002
About the Item
- Creator:Alex Katz (1927, American)
- Creation Year:2002
- Dimensions:Height: 30.25 in (76.84 cm)Width: 22.5 in (57.15 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU466201592
Alex Katz
Flat color and minimal forms contrast the often monumental scales of the paintings by Alex Katz through which he creates portraits and landscapes of deceptive simplicity. Although the signature stark style that defines his prints and other work is now recognizable at a glance, it took him a decade to develop. During that time, he has said he destroyed hundreds of paintings.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian émigré parents, Katz’s family moved to Queens when he was a baby and that is where his family’s passion for the arts supported his early creative interests. In 1946, he enrolled at the Cooper Union in Manhattan where he studied painting under Morris Kantor. While he was influenced by the bold colors and hard edges of modernism, he shifted away from the then-dominant Abstract Expressionism movement to figurative scenes of life that have an inherent cool in their pared-down approach. Especially impactful were Katz’s summer studies between 1949 and 1950 at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, a place where, as he later wrote: “I tried plein air painting and found my subject matter and a reason to devote my life to painting.”
Katz’s first solo show was in 1954 at Roko Gallery in New York. He experimented over the course of the following years with collage and painting on aluminum sheets, with his work in the 1960s drawing inspiration from film and advertising. In the 1970s, Katz expanded into portrait groups that regularly depicted the cultural scene of New York; in the 1980s, he extended his focus to fashion and its supermodels. Since the late 1950s, an enduring muse for his portraits has been his wife, Ada, while others have painted friends and famous figures. The intimate closeness of the frequently cropped faces in Katz’s portraits exudes a sense of tension with the subjects’ enigmatic expressions and planes of color.
In the 1960s, Katz collaborated with American dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor on sets and costumes. His concentration on landscapes emerged in the late 1980s, with atmospheric night views joining his practice, which had previously been defined by bright colors. Always finding new perspectives on his work, he has explored using iPhone photographs as the basis for large-scale compositions in recent years.
Katz’s prolific career has spanned sculpture, prints and public art along with his paintings and drawings, and his works can be found in the collections of leading museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and Museum of Modern Art. He has had over 250 solo exhibitions around the world and continues to be acclaimed. In 2022, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened a major retrospective of his art.
Find Alex Katz art today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Portraits: AnneBy Alex KatzLocated in New York, NYAlex Katz uses outline drawings, called “cartoons”, as templates to transfer full size images onto the canvas prior to painting. Rendered in red chal...Category
Early 2000s Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Blue CoatBy Alex KatzLocated in New York, NYImage size: 24 x 12 inches Edition of 30Category
1990s Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint
- Tommy and the BallBy Isca Greenfield-SandersLocated in New York, NY2008, direct to plate photogravure, 30 3/4 x 35 inches, edition of 50Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsPhotogravure
- Pin Oak CrownBy Sylvia Plimack MangoldLocated in New York, NY2006, aquatint with drypoint, 17 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches, edition of 34Category
Early 2000s Prints and Multiples
MaterialsAquatint, Drypoint
- Two Open Squares Within a Red AreaBy Robert MangoldLocated in New York, NYAssociated with the Minimalist art movement of the 1960s, Mangold developed a reductive vocabulary based on geometric forms, monochromatic color, and an emphasis on the flatness of t...Category
2010s Minimalist Abstract Prints
MaterialsPaper, Etching, Aquatint
- MeditationsBy Ross BlecknerLocated in New York, NY2010, set of 9 etchings with aquatint, 22 x 22 1/4 inches each, edition of 40Category
2010s Prints and Multiples
MaterialsEtching
- Les Deux MagotsBy Red GroomsLocated in New York, NYRed Grooms Les Deux Magots, 1985 etching and aquatint, ed. of 90 26 1/4 x 31 3/8 in. (66.7 x 79.9 cm)Category
1980s Contemporary Portrait Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- Carmen Head of a Woman with Closed Eyes (Plate XXII)By Pablo PicassoLocated in Washington, DCArtist: Pablo Picasso Title: Head of a Woman with Closed Eyes (Plate XXII) Portfolio: Carmen Medium: Etching on Montval wove paper Year: 1949 Edition: 289 Frame Size: 22" x 19" Sheet...Category
1940s Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Tête penchée et Bocal de PoissonsBy Henri MatisseLocated in London, GBEtching on Chine appliqué on Arches Velin paper, Edition of 25 Paper size: 28.5 x 38 cms (11 1/4 x 15 ins) Plate size: 14.9 x 19.6 cms (5 7/8 x 7 5/8 ins)Category
1920s Impressionist Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching
- HAMLET SUITEBy Salvador DalíLocated in Aventura, FLThis rare 10 piece series from 1973 is Dali's interpretation of Shakespeare's drama Hamlet. Dali paid homage to Shakespeare in several other works but this suite is considered to be ...Category
1970s Surrealist Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Engraving, Aquatint, Paper
- GARCON ET DORMEUSE A LA CHANDELLE (BLOCH 226)By Pablo PicassoLocated in Aventura, FLPlate 26 from La Suite Vollard. Bloch 226. Baer 440. Etching, engraving and aquatint, on Montval paper. Signed in pencil, from the edition of 260 (there was also an edition of 50 wit...Category
1930s Cubist Nude Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint, Paper, Engraving
- Homme dévoilant une Femme. (Man uncovering a woman).By Pablo PicassoLocated in Storrs, CTHomme dévoilant une Femme. (Man uncovering a woman). 1931. Drypoint. Bloch 138; Baer 203 B.d. Vollard Suite, plate 5. Printed by: Lacourie...Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching