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.
- Blue CoatBy Alex KatzLocated in New York, NYImage size: 24 x 12 inches Edition of 30Category
1990s Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint
- 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
- 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
- Two Open Squares Within a Green 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
MaterialsEtching
- Green Column/FigureBy 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
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsEtching, Woodcut
- An Unknown FutureLocated in New York, NYThis monochromatic color landscape by Shara Hughes highlights her energetic brushstrokes and dramatic perspective. Rarely working from reference images, ...Category
2010s Landscape Prints
MaterialsEtching
- L'Italienne after Modigliani, Aquatint Etching by Jacques VillonBy Jacques VillonLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Jacques Villon (after Amadeo Modigliani) Title: L'Italienne Year: 1926 - 1927 Medium: Color aquatint etching, signed Modigliani in the plate; signed in pencil by Villon uppe...Category
1920s Impressionist Portrait Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- "Clint Eastwood 'Hollywood Superstar'" 1996 original etching by Al Hirschfeld.By Albert Al HirschfeldLocated in Boca Raton, FL"Clint Eastwood 'Hollywood Superstar'" original etching by artist Al Hirschfeld. Caricature portrait of a young Clint Eastwood in "Rawhide." Hand pulled in an edition of 160 plus 30 ...Category
1990s Other Art Style Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- 1982 "John Wayne" original etching by Al Hirschfeld. Hand signed and numbered.By Albert Al HirschfeldLocated in Boca Raton, FL"John Wayne" original etching by Al Hirschfeld. Caricature portrait of John Wayne in "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon." Hand pulled from an edition of 200 plus 15 artist's proofs in 1982. H...Category
1980s Other Art Style Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Frontispiece, from: Fifty Drawings - French Impressionism PortraitBy Henri MatisseLocated in London, GBThis original etching is hand signed in black ink by the artist "Henri Matisse" at the lower right margin. The work is from the edition of 1,000 published alongside 50 reproductions...Category
1950s Impressionist Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Don Quijote : Off to Battle - Original etching, Handsigned (Field #80-1L)By Salvador DalíLocated in Paris, FRSalvador DALI (1904-1989) Don Quijote : Off to Battle, 1980 Original etching with aquatint Hansigned in pencil Numbered / 125 On Arches vellum 76 x 56.5 cm (c. 30 x 22 in) Authentic...Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- Don Quijote : Lady Dulcinea - Original etching, Handsigned (Field #80-1B)By Salvador DalíLocated in Paris, FRSalvador DALI (1904-1989) Don Quijote : Lady Dulcinea, 1980 Original etching with aquatint Hansigned in pencil Numbered / 125 On Arches vellum 76 x 56.5 cm (c. 30 x 22 in) Authentic...Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint