Katz, Alex, 1927–, American painter, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., studied Cooper Union, New York City (1946–49), Skowhegan School, Maine (1949–50). At a time when abstract expressionism captured most critical and popular attention, Katz devoted himself to cool interpretations of the human figure and the landscape. He is known for large, flat, simplified, and boldly colored figurative canvases painted in what has been described as a billboard style. His numerous portraits, two-dimensional and stylized, many portraying his wife Ada, are particularly acclaimed. He also has created still lives in a similar all-over style, and has worked extensively in collage and printmaking. Many of his works are on permanent display at the Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Me.
See biography by I. Sandler (1979); studies by S. Hunter (1992), P. Blum and J. Merlin (2002), and C. Ratcliff (2005); exhibition catalogs by R. Marshall and R. Rosenblum (1986), D. Sylvester, ed. (1997), A. Heiss (1998), I. Sandler (1998), and V. Coen, ed. (1999); V. Bittencourt and V. Katz, dir., Alex Katz Five Hours (video, 1996).
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