Alex KatzYou Smile and the Angels Sing2017
2017
About the Item
- Creator:Alex Katz (1927, American)
- Creation Year:2017
- Dimensions:Height: 17.25 in (43.82 cm)Width: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Fairfield, CT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2864504831
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: East Hampton, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Ada PortfolioBy Alex KatzLocated in Fairfield, CTPortfolio of ten 1-color etchings, hand-pulled on 300 gsm Somerset Satin White fine art paper. Edition 10/40. Plate size 9 x 9 in. Paper size 13 x 13 in.Category
2010s Portrait Prints
MaterialsPaper, Etching
- Sunrise 2By Alex KatzLocated in Fairfield, CTEdition of 75 8 Color Woodcut on Hiromi Izumi Paper 250 gsmCategory
2010s Contemporary Portrait Prints
MaterialsArchival Paper, Archival Ink
- Coca-Cola GirlBy Alex KatzLocated in Fairfield, CTArchival pigment inks on Entrada Rag Bright 300 gsm paper. Edition 41/100, suite of two.Category
2010s Portrait Prints
MaterialsArchival Pigment, Paper
- Ada (Black)By Alex KatzLocated in Fairfield, CTEdition of 150 1 Color Woodcut on Somerset Satin White, 300 gsmCategory
2010s Contemporary Portrait Prints
MaterialsWoodcut
- Porcelain beauty 4By Alex KatzLocated in Fairfield, CTEdition of 25 Porcelain enamel mounted on aluminum Does not need to be framedCategory
2010s Contemporary Portrait Prints
MaterialsEnamel, Metal
- Porcelain Beauty 6By Alex KatzLocated in Fairfield, CTEdition of 25 Porcelain enamel mounted on aluminum Does not need to be framedCategory
2010s Contemporary Portrait Prints
MaterialsEnamel, Metal
- "The Game of Transformation. Butterflies"Located in Zofingen, AGThe etching "The Game of Transformation. Butterflies" is an artist's play with meanings and associations. In this work, modern girls are presented in the form of glamorous fluttering...Category
2010s Aesthetic Movement Animal Prints
MaterialsPaper, Mulberry Paper, Mezzotint, Etching, Aquatint
- La Marchande des Quatres-SaisonsBy Edgar ChahineLocated in Middletown, NYEtching with drypoint on cream wove paper, 11 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches (297 x 347 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil and numbered 32/40, lower margin. Minor mat tone and several small lo...Category
Early 20th Century Post-Impressionist Portrait Prints
MaterialsHandmade Paper, Rag Paper, Drypoint, Etching
- 'The Protestants Champion!!' (... Duke of Sussex, Son of King George III)By George CruikshankLocated in Middletown, NYThis portrait of King George the III's son was published in the same year that Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiered in London. 'The Protestants Champion!!' (Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex...Category
Early 19th Century English School Portrait Prints
MaterialsWatercolor, Handmade Paper, Engraving, Etching
- 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
- Le Sire De LumeyBy Félicien RopsLocated in Middletown, NYBrussels: J. Bouwens, 1867. Etching with aquatint and engraving on laid Japan paper, 9 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches (247 x 163 mm), full margins. Fifth state (of 5). Scattered moderate foxing....Category
Late 19th Century Symbolist Portrait Prints
MaterialsLaid Paper, Engraving, Etching, Aquatint