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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1946 "Untitled" oil on canvas painting signed and dated by artist Alex Katz.
By Alex Katz
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"Untitled" oil on canvas painting by artist Alex Katz. Signed and dated A. Katz 46 recto lower right. Painted in 1946, during the period when Katz was studying at Cooper Union in New...
Canvas, Oil
$16,000
Reflection 2
By Alex Katz
Located in Fairfield, CT
Edition of 100 Archival pigment ink on Innova Etching Cotton Rag 315 gsm fine art paper
Archival Ink, Rag Paper
$7,800
H 45 in W 45 in D 1.5 in
Abstract Landscape Mixed Media Canvas Painting 45x45" The clarity of a shore
By Irena Orlov
Located in Los Angeles, CA
One of a kind Mixed Medium on Canvas Artwork: Original abstract mixed media work on canvas, which combines new media - digital original hand painting, printed on canvas, then hand p...
Canvas, Varnish, Archival Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media
Sunlit Hill, 2006
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn paints a row of trees with the sun peeking out from underneath in his stellar oil painting entitled “Sunlit Hill.”
Canvas, Oil
$4,000
H 28.625 in W 40.625 in D 1.375 in
John Haymson "Brooklyn Bridge" Oil Painting of New York Skyline, circa 1955
By John Haymson
Located in Miami, FL
JOHN HAYMSON – "BROOKLYN BRIDGE" ⚜ Oil on Canvas ⚜ Hand Signed ⚜ Conservation Frame NEW YORK ICON IN VIVID DETAIL This atmospheric oil painting by John Haymson captures the enduring...
Canvas, Oil
$1,216Sale Price|20% Off
H 33.67 in W 25.01 in D 0.79 in
“Rural Landscape” by Hans Stalzer - Oil on Canvas - 85.5x63.5cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Artwork sold with frame (100 x 78 cm) Hans Stalzer (1878–1940) was an Austrian painter renowned for his landscapes, portraits, and war scenes. Born in Vienna on April 8, 1878, he in...
Canvas, Oil
$175,000
H 37 in W 45 in D 1.5 in
“Middleton Place II, 1974” Wolf Kahn, West Brattleboro, Vermont Barn Oil Canvas
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Yardley, PA
A fantastic early painting from Kahn’s iconic barn series depicting Dr. Middleton’s property in West Brattleboro, VT. Here, Kahn turns a familiar rural motif into something hovering ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,151Sale Price|20% Off
H 21.26 in W 25.6 in
Catalan Farmhouse with Haystacks, Impressionist Oil on Canvas, 1940 Spain
By Joan Asensio Marine
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Catalan Farmhouse with Haystacks Artist: Joaquín Asensio Mariné (Barcelona, 1890 – 1961) Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 54 × 65 cm (21.3 × 25.6 in) Support: Canvas laid on ...
Canvas, Oil
$636Sale Price|20% Off
H 16 in W 27 in D 2 in
Antique Signed European Framed Village Signed Orientalist Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage modernist abstract village painting. Oil on board. Housed in a period frame. Image size, 24L x 12H. Signed.
Canvas, Oil
$6,702
H 11.42 in W 16.15 in
19th Century Maestro View of Venice with the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Maestro active in Venice in the 19th Century Title: View of Venice with the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore and the Basilica Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 29 × 41 c...
Oil, Canvas
Summer Woods III (40 x 26 inch cyanotype painting)
Located in Oakland, CA
This is a combination of painting and photography, the antique cyanotype process and the biggest the artist has ever made. The silhouette of the plant was first drawn, then painted not with ink or paint, but with light-sensitive photo emulsion. The blue and white pattern seen in each leaf is a sun print or lensless photograph of tiny plants laid on top of the painted area. The tiny flowers in the pattern across the painted silhouette are of the same species as the larger painted flower. "Cow Parsnip" and "cow parsley" are common names for this giant white native Californian wildflower...
Rag Paper, Mixed Media, Monotype, Photogram
$1,438Sale Price|52% Off
H 18.12 in W 14.97 in
Venetian Window Oil Painting, European Architectural Interior Scene, 1980s
By Josep Maria Vayreda Canadell
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Medium: Oil on canvas Date: c.1985 Dimensions (canvas): 46 × 38 cm 18.11 × 14.96 inches Dimensions (framed): 69 × 61 cm 27.16 × 24.01 inches Signature: Signed lower right Frame: Included Condition: Very good condition. Stable canvas, no visible restorations. Atmospheric European architectural oil painting depicting a Venetian window with open green shutters, rendered in a refined realist style. The composition highlights aged brickwork, textured plaster and filtered Mediterranean light, creating a calm and contemplative presence. Rather than focusing on narrative, the work emphasizes tonal harmony, surface quality and architectural rhythm. Painted circa 1985, this piece belongs to the artist’s mature period, when Venetian and Mediterranean architectural subjects became recurring themes in his production. The controlled brushwork and balanced palette reflect a synthesis between academic European training and Mediterranean sensitivity. The work is documented and published in a monographic book dedicated to the artist’s production, reinforcing its authenticity and relevance within his body of work. Venetian subjects remain highly desirable among collectors and interior designers seeking elegant European character pieces with architectural depth and decorative strength. An excellent example of late 20th-century Spanish realism with strong decorative appeal. Josep Maria Vayreda C...
Canvas, Oil
$2,400
H 26 in W 34 in
"Finger Wave" Nightlife, Cityscape, acrylic gouache on Stonehenge rag paper
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece titled "Finger Wave" is an original piece by Branche Coverdale and is made from acrylic gouache on Stonehenge rag paper. This piece measur...
Acrylic, Gouache, Rag Paper
$984Sale Price|20% Off
H 18.12 in W 21.66 in D 0.79 in
Mountain Landscape by Henri Weissenbach - Oil on Canvas - 46x55 cm
By Henri Weissenbach
Located in Geneva, CH
Théobald Charles Henri Weissenbach (1891–1966) was a Swiss visual artist known for his contributions to painting. Born in Fribourg, Switzerland, and later active in Geneva, Weissenb...
Oil, Canvas