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.
Hardback Monograph: Alex Katz in Maine (hand signed and dated by Alex Katz)
By Alex Katz
Located in New York, NY
Alex Katz in Maine, 2005 Hardback monograph (hand signed and dated by Alex Katz) Boldly signed and dated 6.9.10 by Alex Katz on the first front end page 9 3/4 × 11 1/2 × 3/4 inches T...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Looking at Art With Alex Katz, hardback monograph hand signed by Alex Katz
By Alex Katz
Located in New York, NY
Alex Katz Looking at Art With Alex Katz (hand signed by Alex Katz), 2018 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (hand signed in black pen on the title page) hand signed by Alex Katz in ...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Board
Monograph: Alex Katz Black and White (Hand signed by Alex Katz)
By Alex Katz
Located in New York, NY
Alex Katz Alex Katz Black and White (Hand signed by Alex Katz), 2017 Hardback monograph with no dust jacket as issued (Hand signed by Alex Katz) Hand signed by Alex Katz on the first...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Face of the Poet
By Alex Katz
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Adored by collectors and art lovers the world over, Alex Katz is renowned for his elegant and distinctive version of figuration. Born in 1927, Katz has been dedicated to art-making ...
Aquatint
Give Me Tomorrow
By Alex Katz
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Adored by collectors and art lovers the world over, Alex Katz is renowned for his elegant and distinctive version of figuration in the original gray linen-covered portfolio. Born in...
Aquatint
$40,000
H 11.42 in W 15.36 in D 3 in
Le Cocu Magnifique -- complete with 12 original etchings
By Pablo Picasso
Located in New York, NY
About In-folio Oblong Dimensions : 29x39 cm. Paris Atelier Crommelynck 1968 Edition #41 of 200 copies including 12 original out-of-text etchings (7 etchings, 4 etchings and aquatint...
Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint
Robert Longo Men In The Cities announcement 1985
By Robert Longo
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Robert Longo Men in the Cities: Rare original 1985 announcement card published on the occasion of: Men In The Cities from November 9 - December 7, 1985 at Brooke Alexander, Inc.; 59...
Offset
$9,159
H 11.15 in W 8.78 in D 0.2 in
La Chèvre-Feuille - Illustrations by Pablo Picasso and G. Hugnet - 1943
By Pablo Picasso
Located in Roma, IT
La Chèvre-Feuille is an original Modern Rare book illustrated by Pablo Picasso and written by Georges Hugnet (11 July 1906 – 26 June 1974) in 1943 . Origina...
Etching
The Bathers ("De Zwemmertjes")
By Rembrandt van Rijn
Located in New York, NY
Etching and drypoint on laid paper, 1651. New Hollstein's third, and final, state. Full sheet size 5.38 x6.5 inches. Frame size 14.25 x 16.75 inches. Catalogue raisonné references...
Drypoint, Etching
$1,761
H 0.79 in Dm 10.52 in
Derrick Adams, We Came to Party and Plan 38 - Limited Edition Plate
By Derrick Adams
Located in Hamburg, DE
Derrick Adams (American, b. 1970) We Came to Party and Plan 38, 2022 Medium: Porcelain plate (fine bone china) Dimensions: 26.7 cm diameter (10 1/2 in) Edition of 250: Printed signat...
Porcelain
Sainte Anne
By Salvador Dalí
Located in New York, NY
Drypoint, aquatint and heliogravure, 1965. Signed by the artist and dated in pencil, lower right margin. Numbered 42/150 in pencil, lower left margin. Printed by Robbe, Paris. Pub...
Drypoint, Aquatint
The souper dress
By Andy Warhol
Located in Jerusalem, IL
A wonderful piece of unknown edition by Andy Warhol. A silkscreen print on a Cellulose and Cotton dress. Fearing the artist's trade mark Campbell's soup can. In very good condition.
Textile, Screen
$148Sale Price|67% Off
H 12 in W 11.6 in D 0.6 in
Four Seasons (Illustrated Book, Pop Art, 3D Art, Urban Art, ~67% OFF LIST PRICE)
By James Rizzi
Located in Kansas City, MO
James Rizzi Four Seasons (Illustrated Book, Pop Art, 3D Art, Urban Art, New York Artist, Contemporary Art) Handsigned and numbered illustrated book Year: 1988 Size: 12×11.6×0.6in Edition: 965 Signed, numbered by hand Publisher: John Szoke Graphics, Inc. - NYC, USA Printed by: Arnoldo Mondadori Editori, Italy COA provided Ref.: 924802-1932 *the "Four Seasons: Spring" print is missing and not included Tags: James Rizzi, Pop art, 3D art, Urban art, New York artist, Contemporary art, Colorful art, Whimsical art, Cityscape art, Silkscreen prints, 20th-century artist, Three-dimensional paintings, Graphic art, American artist, Happy Rizzi House, 3D constructions, Animated art, Street art, Manhattan art, Graphic artist, International artist, Iconic pop artist, Playful art, Pop culture art, Childlike art...
Paper
$30,533Sale Price|38% Off
H 72.05 in W 72.05 in D 1.19 in
Flowers, (After) Andy Warhol -Pop Art, Tapestry, Edition, Contemporary, Design
By Andy Warhol
Located in Zug, CH
(After) Andy Warhol Flowers, 1968 Hand Woven Wool Tapestry 183 x 183 cm (72 x 72 in) Edition of 20 With the knotted name ‘ANDY WARHOL’ lower right and the embroidered annotation ‘WARHOL ©’ on the reverse Published by Modern Master Tapestries, NY Throughout art history, the flower and its symbolism have been a subject matter for many renowned artists. Andy Warhol explored the qualities of the flower image through his Pop Art prism in the Flower series of 1964, thus creating cartoon-like symbols that would be instantly recognized. The 1964 Flower series became one of his most iconic and successful works. Based on a discovered photograph of hibiscus blossoms, Warhol drenched the flowers’ floppy shapes with a variation of vibrant colors, transforming them into psychedelic indoor décor. Playing with traditional art historical themes, Andy Warhol gave a particular twist to this historically accepted symbol of life. The electric colors of his flowers, drawn from a darker and rich undergrowth background might be the indicator of an extreme vision of life, a life lived on the edge. Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was an American artist, a leading figure of the Pop Art movement. Using a variety of media materials from photographs up to computer-generated art, Warhol's works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity, culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. Emerging from the poverty and obscurity of an Eastern European immigrant family in Pittsburgh, Warhol became a charismatic magnet for bohemian New York. In 1960, he began to produce his first canvases depicting Popeye and Dick Tracy. After Marilyn Monroe’s death in August 1962, he started working from snapshots of the star’s already legendary face, which had been widely distributed by the world’s press. His choice of subjects clearly relates to an obsession with demise – his Marilyns, his Ten Lizies (created when the actress Elizabeth Taylor was seriously ill), and also his Elvis. Part of the “Death and Disaster” series, Andy Warhol´s...
Tapestry, Wool
Teseo
By Giorgio De Chirico
Located in New York, NY
Color etching and aquatint, 1970. Signed by the artist in pencil, lower right. Numbered 2/50 in pencil, lower left. Titled in pencil, lower central. With the artist's blind stamp, l...
Etching, Aquatint
$1,100
H 5.5 in W 8.5 in
Raymond Pettibon 1993-2006 (a collection of 6 announcements)
By Raymond Pettibon
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Raymond Pettibon 1993-2006: A curated set of 6 vintage Raymond Pettibon illustrated announcement cards. Medium: 6 offset printed announcement cards. 1993-2006. Dimensions ranging from: 4.125 x 5.375 inches to 8.75 x 5.5 inches. Condition: Each in good to very good overall vintage condition. Each unsigned from an edition of unknown. Published on the occasion of the following Pettibon exhibitions: - Ikon LTD./Kay Richards, 1999 - Feature 1993 - Macba 2002 - Regen Projects 2006 - Santa Monica: Museum of Modern Art 2001 - David Zwirner 1997 Further background on announcement cards: "The only way you could let people know a show was happening was through an announcement or a poster. The art world was also much smaller at the time, so if you mailed out 200 invites, you were reaching a good core of the art world." (Rosen). Raymond Pettibon is a contemporary American artist known for his stylized ink drawings combining images and text. His inventive narratives blend historical content with consumer culture to yield incisive critiques of contemporary society. “I was making my work as transparent as possible, without equivocations, without calling attention to itself, without apology,” he explained. “There's a lot of conventions in the art world that are not to be transgressed, but my economy of means doesn't abide by those strictures.” Born Raymond Ginn on June 16, 1957 in Tucson, AZ, the artist is self-taught, but cites drawings by William Blake, Edward Hopper, Francisco Goya, and John Sloan as instructive to his practice. Deriving inspiration from comics, cartoons, and other pop culture iconography, Pettibon began designing album covers and ephemera for his brother’s band Black Flag in the mid-1970s. He went on to produce cover art for Sonic Youth, the Minutemen, and the Foo Fighters. In 2017, the artist was the subject of the major retrospective “Raymond Pettibon: A Pen of All Work,” held at the New Museum in New York, where he currently lives and works. Today, his works can be found in the collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London, among others. Related categories: Raymond Pettibon poster...
Offset
$528
H 8.27 in W 5.52 in D 0.04 in
Les Contes Drolatiques - Rare Book Illustrated by G. Doré - 1861
By Gustave Doré
Located in Roma, IT
Les Contes Drolatiques is an original modern rare book written by Honoré de Balzac (1799 – 1850) and illustrated by Gustave Doré (Strasbourg, 1832 – 23 January 1883) in 1861. Publis...
Paper, Etching