Alex Katz

Key facts

Born

1927, American

Movement

• Pop Art

Works held in

23 museums^[1]

• Paul Taylor Dance Company

  Bavarian State Painting Collections

  Munich, Germany

  16 works

  Museum detailsMap

Plan your visit to see Alex Katz →

• Is alex katz still alive?+

  Yes, Alex Katz is still alive (born 1927).
• What is alex katz known for?+

  Alex Katz's cutouts are among his most recognised contributions.
• What is Alex Katz's most famous work?+

  While it is difficult to single out one definitive work, Alex Katz is perhaps best known for his large-scale, simplified figurative paintings. These paintings often feature portraits of friends, family, and his wife, Ada Del Moro. Katz developed his signature style in the 1950s and 1960s, moving away from the prevailing abstract expressionism. He aimed to capture fleeting moments and the surface appearance of things. His paintings are characterised by their flat planes of colour, reduced detail, and cool, detached observation. Katz's work has contributed to the development of Pop Art and Minimalism. Some of his notable works include 'The Red Smile' (1963), and numerous portraits of Ada, solidifying his place in contemporary art.
• What should I know about Alex Katz's prints?+

  Alex Katz began making prints in the 1950s. He has worked with several publishers and workshops, including Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), Graphicstudio, and Tyler Graphics Ltd. These workshops are known for their technical capabilities and for using cutting-edge materials. When considering Katz's prints, it is important to understand the concept of an original print. An original print is conceived by the artist as a print and executed solely as a print. Each print in a numbered edition is considered an original, created from a plate, stone, screen, or block. The artist decides the number of prints in the edition. Each print is individually inked and pulled, making it a "multi-original" medium. The numbering (for example, 12/25) accounts for the number of prints in the edition. Reproductions, on the other hand, are copies of artworks originally created in another medium, such as painting or watercolour. These are usually made using photomechanical means. The numbering or signing of a reproduction does not change its nature; it remains a copy, not an original print.
• What style or movement did Alex Katz belong to?+

  Alex Katz is often associated with the generation that bridges Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. Katz himself felt disconnected from the "metaphysical things" and "French philosophy" that preoccupied older artists. Instead, he found inspiration in everyday life, such as basketball and dancing. Katz, like other artists linked to the emergence of Pop Art, viewed abstraction as detached from the realities of youth and modern life. His work incorporates elements of advertising's visual language, introducing what one source calls an "optic flash" into his paintings. While some critics consider Katz a "New-Figurative" artist, Katz stated his ambition was "to continue the great tradition of the New York School". His paintings explore how images can appear faster, and disappear slower, than thought.
• What techniques or materials did Alex Katz use?+

  Alex Katz, born in 1927, is known for large-scale paintings employing oil on linen. His work often features hard lines, dramatic cropping, and unmodulated colours, reminiscent of billboards and advertising. Brice Marden, in a statement applicable to Katz's methods, describes priming cotton duck canvas with turps-thinned Flake White. Marden sands the surface when dry. Colour is applied by mixing standard artist's oil colour with a medium of wax and turpentine, kept warm on a hot plate. The mixture is applied with a brush and worked over so the medium and paint thoroughly cover the shape. The paint is then worked with a large painting spatula and a small painting knife until it reaches a satisfactory state. Marden attempts to keep the surfaces in one painting constant and total. Katz's technique involves painting hairstyles and hats, prioritising external appearances over inner feelings. His paintings present the appearance, rather than the psychology, of contemporary figures, such as musicians, artists, suburbanites, friends, and family.
• What was Alex Katz known for?+

  Alex Katz is an American artist known for his figurative paintings, prints, and sculptures. His simplified, flattened style is immediately recognisable. Katz's work often depicts portraits of friends, family, and fellow artists, as well as scenes from everyday life. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1927, Katz studied at the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture from 1946 to 1949. He then attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. Early on, Katz was influenced by Abstract Expressionism, but by the late 1950s, he had turned to a representational style. His mature style developed in the 1960s. It is characterised by large-scale canvases, bold colours, and a focus on surface and form. Katz's paintings often have a cinematic quality, with figures cropped and arranged in a way that suggests movement and narrative. He has explored printmaking extensively, creating numerous lithographs, screenprints, and etchings. These prints share the same stylistic qualities as his paintings, with their flat planes of colour and simplified forms.
• When did Alex Katz live and work?+

  Alex Katz was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1927. He is still alive and working today. Katz studied at the Cooper Union School of Art in Manhattan from 1946 to 1949. He then attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine during the summer of 1949. Skowhegan's emphasis on painting from life had a significant impact on Katz's development. Although associated with New York, Katz has deep ties to Maine. Since the 1950s, he has spent summers in Lincolnville, Maine. The landscapes and people of Maine frequently appear in his art. Katz's connection to Maine is such that the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, has a wing dedicated to his work. This wing contains over 900 paintings, drawings, and prints donated by the artist. Katz currently lives and works in New York City and Lincolnville.
• Where can I see Alex Katz's work?+

  Alex Katz's works appear in many public collections. Several New York museums hold his pieces, such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. You can also find his work at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Outside New York, notable collections include the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Several university collections also hold Katz's art, for example, the Yale University Art Gallery, the University of Iowa Museum of Art, and the University of Texas at Austin. These and other institutions have displayed Katz's paintings and prints in both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
• Where was Alex Katz from?+

  Alex Katz was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1927. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. The family moved to St Albans, Queens, in 1928. Katz studied art at the Cooper Union in Manhattan from 1946 to 1949. He then attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine during the summer of 1949. Skowhegan exposed him to painting from life, which became a consistent element in his practice. Katz has lived and worked in New York City since the 1950s; he also spends summers in Maine. His connection to New York and Maine has been a constant influence. Although he is associated with New York, his time in Maine is important to his artistic development and subject matter.
• Who did Alex Katz influence?+

  Alex Katz's simplified, flattened style and interest in contemporary subjects have had a measurable effect on younger artists. Katz's work, with its emphasis on surface and immediacy, prefigured aspects of Pop Art and later influenced painters associated with Minimalism. Some artists who have acknowledged Katz's influence include Peter Halley, known for his geometric abstractions, and David Salle, whose work combines disparate images in a single canvas. Halley's use of flat, bold colour and geometric forms echoes Katz's reduction of form to essential elements. Salle's appropriation of imagery and interest in popular culture connect with Katz's early adoption of advertising aesthetics. Beyond painting, Katz's approach to portraiture has affected photographers and filmmakers. His focus on capturing a specific moment in time, combined with a detached, cool aesthetic, resonates in the work of artists exploring similar themes of contemporary life and representation. Katz's influence can be seen in the broader movement towards simplification and directness in art, a move away from complex narratives.
• Who influenced Alex Katz?+

  Alex Katz has cited a wide range of artists as influences, from Old Masters to members of the New York School. In his college years, Katz studied Analytic Cubism, especially the work of Braque and Picasso, as well as early Kandinsky and Miró. He also analysed paintings by Matisse, Cézanne, and Mondrian. Katz has mentioned looking at paintings by Léger, Renaissance and Quattrocento artists, American masters, and examples of African art. In the late 1940s, Katz felt drawn to Matisse's use of colour. By the early 1950s, he considered Pollock, de Kooning, and Rothko to be his mentors. He saw Gorky's exhibition at the Whitney in 1951, and was impressed by the scale of works by Still, Rothko, and Newman at Betty Parsons's gallery. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Katz was intrigued by Louis's "Veils" and "Unfurleds", and Noland's targets and chevrons. Katz has also spoken of the importance of artistic community, and the unconscious collaboration between artists. He found inspiration in the work and attitudes of Mondrian, Duchamp, and Miró.