Alex Katz Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
American, b. 1927
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.
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Artist: Alex Katz
Vincent
By Alex Katz
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Alex Katz (b. 1927) has been dedicated to art-making since the 1950's - however, it wasn't until the 60's when he established his signature 'flat' figurative style. Over the succeedi...
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1960s Pop Art Alex Katz Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
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Watercolor
$24,000
"Chris", charcoal, drawing, Katz, Portrait, cool
By Alex Katz
Located in Köln, DE
This is an outstanding charcoal drawing by Alex Katz. He is portraying "Chris", who was model for several paintings and prints. Drawings do have an important impact to Alex Katz pain...
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2010s Contemporary Alex Katz Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
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Charcoal
Price Upon Request
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2017 Figure8, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
Coming Attractions, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Cicago, IL
2012 Eye Teeth Group Show, Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI
2011 Art Chicago 2011, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL
2010 Art Chicago 2010, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL
2009 David Becker Retrospective, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
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2008 Art Chicago 2008, Represented by Ann Nathan Gallery, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL
2007 Unruly Muse, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
SOFA NY (Sculptural Objects Functional Art), Ann Nathan Gallery, 7th Regiment Armory, NY, NY
Art Chicago, Merchandise Mart, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
2006 Palm Beach³, Ann Nathan Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2005 SOFA NY (Sculptural Objects Functional Art), Ann Nathan Gallery, 7th Regiment Armory, NY, NY
Art Chicago in the Park, Butler Field, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
Palm Beach³, Ann Nathan Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2004 Contemporary Prints: National Academy Museum Collection, National Academy of Design, NYC
Art Chicago 2004, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
Fantastic & Visionary Art, touring exhibit: Orange, Manning, Riddoch, & Ballart Gallery, Australia
Return of the Men, Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2003 Art Chicago 2003, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
Fantastic & Visionary Art, touring exhibit: Orange Regional Gallery, New South Wales, Australia
National Academy of Design 178th Annual Exhibition, NY, NY
2002 Art Chicago 2002, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
Art of the 20th Century, Ann Nathan Gallery, Park Ave. Armory, NY, NY
Outsider Art Fair, The Puck Building @ Houston & Lafayette Sts., NYC
Self and Other Portraits, Wisconsin Artists, Charles Allis Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Return of the Men, Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2001 Beyond the 50's, May 4 - July 1, Exhibit A, A Gallery of Art & Design, Birmingham, Michigan
Outsider Art Fair, January 26-28, The Puck Building @ Houston & Lafayette Sts., NYC
"FANTASTIC ART", April/May, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange NSW, Australia.
David Becker: Etchings and Engravings, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, solo exhibition of prints, February.
2000 Four person exhibition, Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia, Oct. 31 - Nov. 27, 2000.
1999 National Academy 174th Annual Exhibition, NY
University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty, Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, WI
Treasures Revealed: 19th and 20th Century American Works on Paper, National Academy, NY
1995 Bharat Bhavan International Biennial of Prints, Bhopal, India
Contemporary Prints, Selections from John Szoke Gallery, NYC, Drew University, Madison, NJ
Collection Update, 1994, National Academy of Design Museum, NY
1994 David Becker and Robert Sholties, Peconic Gallery, Suffolk Community College, Riverhead, NY
In Black and White: Works by Four Printmakers, Atrium Gallery, University of Connecticut, Storrs
Aesthetics of Athletics: Sports, Games, and Exercise, Charles A. Wustum Musem, Racine, WI
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1993 American Prints: Last Half 20th Century, Jane Haslem Gallery, Washingtion, DC
Outstanding American Prints, Anderson Arts Center, Kenosha,WI
National Academy of Design 168th Annual Exhibition, NY
David Becker: Etchings, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
Portraits, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
1992 The Print Fair, 7th Regiment Armory, NY
1991 166th Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, NY
Alma College Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan
Modes of Expression, Potsdam College, SUNY, Potsdam, NY
1990 With Nothing On, Prints and Drawings of the Nude, New Orleans Museum of Art, LA
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Publications/Reviews
2007 November 60 Years of North American Prints: 1947-2007, Boston U. Art Gallery, Boston, MA
2003 July 11 Isthmus, Madison, “Welcome to My Nightmare,” by Robert Cozzolino.
2001 March 14 The Wall Street Journal, "Time Off: A Week of Diversions."
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2001 February Isthmus, Madison, "America's Printland," by Jennifer Smith.
2001 February Capital Times, "The Crowned Prints," by Kevin Lynch.
1999 July Progressive Printmakers: Wisconsin Artists & the Print Renaissance.
1995 – 1999 Who’s Who in America.
1993 Summer The Journal of the Print World, review.
March 14 The New York Times, review.
March 12 The Daily Oklahoman, review.
1990 Dec. 13 The Capital Times, review.
April 28 The Washingtion Post, review.
March 25 The New York Times, review.
Summer The Journal of the Print World, review.
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Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Brooklyn Museum, NYC
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
Elvehjem Museum of Art, U of Wisconson-Madison
Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, HI
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Metropolitan Museum, Miami, FL
Museo de Arte Moderno, Cali, Columbia
National Academy, NY, NY
National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC
New York Public Library, NY
Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, MA
United States Information Agency, Prague, Czech.
Alberta College of Art, Alberta, Canada
Albion College, Albion, MI
Alma College, Alma, MI
Art Center, South Bend, IN
AT&T Corporate HQ, Plainfield, NJ
Boston Printmakers, Boston, MA
Bradley University, Peoria, IL
Columbia Green Community College, Hudson, NY
Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
Davidson College, Davidson, NC
Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA
Georgia State University – Atlanta
Hope College, Holland, MI
Hunterdon Art Center, Clinton, NJ
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
Marui Imai Inc., Sapporo, Japan
Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI
Minot Art Association, Minot, ND
North Carolina Print/Drawing Society, Charlotte, NC
North Texas State University – Denton
Ohio University – Athens
Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma State University, OK
Quad Graphics, Milwaukee, WI
Silvermine Guild of Arts, New Canaan, CT
Springfield College, Springfield, MA
St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY
State University of New York – Fredonia
State University of New York – Potsdam
Trenton State College, Trenton, NJ
University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
University of Colorado-Boulder
University of Dallas, TX
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Candice Groot, Evanston, IL
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Alex Katz portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Alex Katz portrait drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Alex Katz in pencil, charcoal and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Alex Katz portrait drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of David Becker, Tricia Butski, and Linda Newman Boughton. Alex Katz portrait drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $24,000 and tops out at $40,000, while the average work can sell for $32,000.
Artists Similar to Alex Katz
Questions About Alex Katz Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
- What media does Alex Katz use?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 16, 2024What media Alex Katz uses varies. Over the course of his career, the American artist has worked in painting, sculpture and printmaking. Always finding new perspectives on his work, he has explored using iPhone photographs as the basis for large-scale compositions in recent years. On 1stDibs, shop an assortment of Alex Katz art.
- 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Alex Katz is a contemporary artist who produced paintings, sculptures and prints. Many historians associate him with the Nouveau réalisme movement, but he also worked in figurative and Pop art styles. Shop a collection of Alex Katz art on 1stDibs.
- Is Alex Katz's style Pop art?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMay 3, 2024Yes, Alex Katz's style is Pop art. During the 1950s, he experimented with collage and painting on aluminum sheets, with his later 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. These sources of inspiration align with Pop art's focus on transforming elements of popular culture into fine art. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Alex Katz art.