Alex KatzRed Cap1989-1990
1989-1990
About the Item
- Creator:Alex Katz (1927, American)
- Creation Year:1989-1990
- Dimensions:Height: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)Width: 72.75 in (184.79 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Palo Alto, CA
- Reference Number:
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: Palo Alto, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Oiseau dans son nid (Bird in its Nest) from Août (August)By Georges BraqueLocated in Palo Alto, CABraque Oiseau dans son nid (Bird in its Nest) from Août (August), 1958 is an exquisite work that revisits Braque’s beloved bird motif. Beautifully inspir...Category
1950s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint
- A Moving Still Life, from The Blue GuitarBy David HockneyLocated in Palo Alto, CADavid Hockney A Moving Still Life, from The Blue Guitar, 1976-1977 is a playful scene that takes its title to the full extent of its literal meaning. The center of the composition is dominated by a mannequin-like head and a table with a typical still-life arrangement, set on the surface of a large table suggested by the shading and edge lines in the bottom right. The hair of the mannequin blows out behind it, threading neatly through a mysterious red hoop...Category
1970s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- La Harpie (The Harpy)By Joan MiróLocated in Palo Alto, CAThe magnificent scale of this work truly allows us to step into the surreal reality that Miró creates in La Harpie. It is an absolute world full of color, whimsical imagery, and bri...Category
1960s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- Le Marechal des Logis (The Sergeant), 1978By Joan MiróLocated in Palo Alto, CAA powerful black figure stares out from the composition emoting authority and confidence. Aptly titled Le Marechal des Logis (The Sergeant) a badge of accolades is present in vibrant primary colors, just under an eye which stares out intimidatingly. Best known for his playful compositions, Miró...Category
1970s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- Clown, from Recent Etchings IBy Wayne ThiebaudLocated in Palo Alto, CACreated in 1979, this etching and aquatint on Somerset paper is hand-signed by Wayne Thiebaud (Mesa, 1920 - Sacramento, 2021) in pencil in the lower right margin and is numbered from...Category
1970s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- La Sorcière (The Sorcerer)By Joan MiróLocated in Palo Alto, CAMiró's La Sorcière (The Sorcerer), 1969 is a monumental piece whose abstract forms work in combination with splashes of green and red. Each element coexists in perfect harmony, echoi...Category
1960s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- Comedia dell'Arte - Etching, Ltd 60 copiesBy Mordecai MorehLocated in Paris, FRMordecaï Moreh (1937-) Comedia dell'Arte Original etching and aquatint Handsigned in pencil Numbered / 60 copies (the number of the etching you receive...Category
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- 'Soaring New York' — 1930s American Modernism, New York CityBy Howard Norton CookLocated in Myrtle Beach, SCHoward Cook, 'Soaring New York', aquatint, soft-ground etching, roulette, 1931-32, edition 25, Duffy 165. Signed, dated, and annotated 'imp' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked, atmosp...Category
1930s American Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- The funfair - Original etching, HandsignedBy Mily PossozLocated in Paris, FRMily POSSOZ The funfair Original etching and aquatint Handsigned in pencil Numbered / 75 copies On BFK Rives vellum 15 x 20" INFORMATIONS : Bears the blind stamp of the editor "Mar...Category
Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- MON DOUX OU-ETES-VOUS? / MY SWEET COUNTRY, WERE ARE YOU?By Georges RouaultLocated in Santa Monica, CAGEORGES ROUAULT (1871-1958) MON DOUX OU-ETES-VOUS? / MY SWEET COUNTRY, WERE ARE YOU? 1927 ( Chapon/Rouault 97; Wofsy 151) Miserere XLIV Aquatint, 1927, on laid Arches. watermark...Category
1920s Modern Landscape Prints
MaterialsAquatint
- 'Taxco Market' — 1930s Rare American Modernist Scene of MexicoBy Howard Norton CookLocated in Myrtle Beach, SCHoward Cook, 'Taxco Market', aquatint and etching, 1932-33, edition 30, Duffy 181. Signed and titled in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full shee...Category
1930s American Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint
- Odalisque sur la terrasseBy (after) Henri MatisseLocated in London, GBEtching and aquatint on Arches wove paper, executed in 1922, by Jacques Villon after Henri Matisse. One of the twenty proofs in black before the edition of 200 in colour published by...Category
1920s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching, Aquatint