Alex Katz

Throughout Alex Katz’s seven-decade career, fashion has been a central preoccupation. “It’s like you say, ‘yes, yes, no’ to everything that comes in front of you”, the 98-year-old artist tells Vogue. “I’m painting the now, and fashion is now.”

Katz has collaborated with leading figures from the worlds of fashion and cinema to produce several series of fashion images. His works are instantly recognizable for their brightly colored, flattened style, developed in reaction to Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s. His discerning eye comes through vividly in his paintings, sculptures, and prints, which seem to capture not only the sitter’s style but also the essence of their personality.

The portrait offered in this auction depicts Christy Turlington, the celebrated supermodel who has long been a muse for the artist. Katz began working on Turlington’s portrait in 2004, completing four large-scale versions in total, and the two quickly became close friends. She has since appeared in his work on numerous occasions and continues to inspire him.

Christy in "Study for Black Hat 11" belongs to the well-known Black Hat series, created in 2010. The series includes portraits on canvas, as well as screen prints and woodcuts. Each composition shares key elements: a larger-than-life head, shrouded in mystery, the face obscured by a wide black hat and sunglasses. Against a vibrant canary-yellow background, the cropped figure dominates the canvas, commanding attention. Sitters for the series include Christy, Vivien, Ulla, Tim, and Nicole, joined by Ada - Katz’s wife and lifelong muse. and synonymous with Katz’s iconic portraiture. With its brilliant palette and archetypal flatness, the Black Hat series stands as a superlative example of Katz's oeuvre and a tribute to his New York muses.

Katz’s work has been exhibited internationally since 1951, with major retrospectives at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Tate Modern in London and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Over his career, he has received numerous honors, including induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for Painting. His influence extends beyond the art world, through collaborations in literature, fashion, and public art projects.

Today, Alex Katz is an ever-present artist whose work has evolved over a lifetime from small intimate paintings to aluminium cut-outs, to eye-catching portraits, landscapes and floral paintings on a monumental scale. At 98 years of age, he can look back on more than 200 solo exhibitions and nearly 500 group shows, with his works represented in over 100 collections worldwide.