Ada with Sunglasses
View Similar Items
Alex KatzAda with Sunglasses1990
1990
About the Item
- Creator:Alex Katz (1927, American)
- Creation Year:1990
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5542302803
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 plans to open a major retrospective of his art.
Find Alex Katz art today on 1stDibs.
- The Gates (a), Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeBy Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in New York, NYThis offset lithograph in colors on wove paper from the Project for Central Park, New York City, was created by the artist in 2004. One of 300 hand-signed in pencil prints, from an u...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph
- Minnie (Pink Glitter)By Damien HirstLocated in New York, NYA very fun and highly collectible screenprint in colors, Minnie (Pink Glitter) was created by Damien Hirst in 2016. Measuring 34 1/2 x 27 1/2 in. (87.5 x ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsGlitter, Screen
Price Upon Request - UntitledBy Roy LichtensteinLocated in New York, NYCreated by the Art Production Fund in conjunction with the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein in 2013, this original screenprinted glossy paper plate conta...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsScreen
- International Volunteer DayBy Keith HaringLocated in New York, NYA fun and familiar image created by Keith Haring as an original lithograph in colors in 1988, International Volunteer Day was commissioned by the United Nations on its 40th anniversa...Category
20th Century Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
Price Upon Request - The Gates (c), from the Project for Central ParkBy Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in New York, NYThis offset lithograph in colors from the Project for Central Park, New York City, was created by the artist in 2004. One of 300 hand-signed by the artist in pencil from an unnumbere...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- UntitledBy Marc ChagallLocated in New York, NYThis original lithograph in multiple colors on Velin paper was printed by Atelier Mourlot, Paris in 1969. From the unsigned unnumbered original edition measuring 9.5 x 12.25 in. (24....Category
Mid-20th Century Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph
- "Erotic Mind IV" 2018 Utopian Sculptures Serial Prints by Fernando Crespo #100By Fernando CrespoLocated in Coimbra, PTF. Crespo author of a world-famous giant sculpture Pope Francis Heart. Makes a first edition of his private and utopian projects. Fernando Crespo is a recognized artist in Portugal. ...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsInkjet
- "Suspended Lives" 2018 Utopian Sculptures Serial Prints by Fernando Crespo #100By Fernando CrespoLocated in Coimbra, PTF. Crespo author of a world-famous giant sculpture Pope Francis Heart. Makes a first edition of his private and utopian projects. Fernando Crespo is a r...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsInkjet
- "Fashion Victims" 2018 Utopian Sculptures Serial Prints by Fernando Crespo#100By Fernando CrespoLocated in Coimbra, PTF. Crespo author of a world-famous giant sculpture Pope Francis Heart. Makes a first edition of his private and utopian projects. Fernando Crespo is a recognized artist in Portugal. ...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsInkjet
- Still LifeBy René GenisLocated in Berlin, MDRene Genis (French 1922-2004) Still Life. Mainly oranges and browns, fruits and flowers, against a background of browns with a pitcher central. The browns contain a subtle mixture ...Category
Mid-20th Century Contemporary Still-life Prints
MaterialsLithograph
$580 Sale Price20% Off - Executive PlacesettingBy Nadine BoughtonLocated in Gloucester, MANadine Boughton’s limited edition prints in the “Fortune and the Feminine” series are collages of images in Fortune Magazine and other vintage sources 1950–63. She collages digitally, which allows her to control scale and combine elements seamlessly, creating persuasively “realistic” fantasy scenes. Boughton (b. 1943) employs the methods and materials of Pop-Art, but her cowgirl art...Category
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsPigment
- Still Life 3By Tami BahatLocated in Washington Depot,, CTArchival pigment printCategory
2010s Contemporary Still-life Prints
MaterialsArchival Pigment