Alex Katz's Artwork

 Alex Katz

Portrait of a Poet: Kenneth Koch, 1970
27 5/8 x 22 inches


Superb Lilies, 1972
Lithograph in seven colors
19 1/8 x 20 1/8 inches


Yellow Tulips, 2014
48 x 77 inches


Red Hat (Ada), 2015
Woodcut
60 x 42 3/4 inches


Belinda, 2016
Archival pigment inks
30 x 21 3/4 inches


Maddie Fenton

9/11/17

Painting I

Professor Zimmer

            Alex Katz is a major figure in terms of contemporary art. He was born in 1927 in Brooklyn, NY to a Jewish family, but later moved to Queens, NY where he was raised. In 1946, he enrolled in The Cooper Union Art School in Manhattan. Here he studied under Morris Kantor and learned modern art theories and techniques. After graduating from The Cooper Union, Katz attended the Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, ME for two summers.

It was after the 1950s that he became largely interested in painting portraits. Katz created portraits of many strangers and friends, but it was his wife, Ada, who became the largest inspiration behind his portraitures.

            Katz is primarily recognized for his large and simple paintings. In his works, he usually uses a monochrome background and a bright/bold color palette. In the 1960s, Katz put his skills in to the printmaking world, with his focus once again on portraits as well as fashion design. After the 1980s Katz began experimenting with landscape paintings as well as portraits. His focus was on close-ups of different groups of flowers and forests with light falling on the tree branches. Even though it was a completely different subject from his painted portraits, by this time in his career, Katz had already developed his easily recognizable painting style. 

 Works Cited

"Alex Katz." Alex Katz. N.p., n.d. Web. 

Katz, Alex, Carter Ratcliff, Robert Storr, Iwona Blazwick, and Barry Schwabsky. Alex Katz. N.p.: Phaidon, 2014. Print.

"A