Alex Katz: Small Paintings

New York artist Alex Katz is best known for his eye-catching, large-scale portraits, figures, and landscapes, but in the mid-1950s he painted intimate works, originating the style that would become the hallmark of his mature work. By the early 1960s, he established a procedure of making small sketches using oil paint on Masonite board, which he would enlarge and modify, then make into paper cartoons to transfer to the canvas. He produces one or more small sketches for every large painting.

Although Katz considers the large works to be his major productions, small-scale paintings are the underpinning of his work, revealing his initial passion for a subject--a love at first sight before it has fully matured. While his big paintings are akin to a public performance, the small paintings are rehearsals that reveal not only how he works but more importantly why he is interested in a particular subject. This volume focuses on the achievement and significance of Katz's small paintings.