BORN: BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, USA

July 24, 1927

Alex Katz is an American figurative artist. In particular, he is known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints and is represented by numerous galleries internationally. Katz achieved great public prominence in the 1980s. He is well known for his large paintings, whose bold simplicity and heightened colours are now seen as precursors to Pop Art.

Katz's paintings are divided almost equally into the genres of portraiture and landscape.

In 1965, Katz also embarked on a prolific career in printmaking. Katz would go on to produce many editions in lithography, etching, silkscreen, woodcut and linoleum cut, producing over 400 print editions in his lifetime. The Albertina, Vienna, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, hold complete collections of Katz print oeuvre. A print catalogue raisonné is was released by the Albertina in the fall of 2011.

Selected Museum Collections:

Art Institute of Chicago; Colby College Museum of Art, Maine; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Museum of Modern Art, New York City; National Galleries of Scotland; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Tate Gallery, London, UK; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City; Art Collection of the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Colombia; Harvard University Art Museums, Massachusetts;  Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany; Los Angeles County Museum of Art  ; Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Trento, Italy; Nickle Arts Museum at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Orlando Museum of Art, Florida; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; San Diego Museum of Art, California; Scheringa Museum voor Realisme, Spanbroek, Netherlands; The Albertina, Vienna.