Synopses & Reviews
For almost fifty years, the Americanand#160;artist Alex Katz (b. 1927) has painted a series of portraits of his wife, Ada. This beautifully illustrated book is the first to focus on these iconic paintings, which are unprecedented in their focus on a single figure over many years.
In this volume, leading scholars explore the allure of Ada as a subject and the art-historical importance of Katzand#8217;s portraits, asking fascinating questions about Katzand#8217;s methods and intentions: What do these paintings reveal and conceal about their subject? What does Katz do in the studio to convey such vitality on his canvases? How does Katzand#8217;s work fit into the history of portraiture and the art movements of the 1960s and beyond? Acclaimed art critic and curator Robert Storr examines Adaand#8217;s alluring persona, comparing her to other and#147;goddessesand#8221; who have captivated centuries of portrait painters. James Schuyler recounts a day in Katzand#8217;s studio, and the late British art critic Lawrence Alloway explores the role of repetition in the Ada portraits, which he views as a cycle of images with antecedents in Veland#225;zquez and Rembrandt.
Featuring theand#160;renowned series of Ada portraits, this book demonstrates the cumulative power and enduring delight of Alex Katzand#8217;s achievement, as well as his devotion to his greatest muse.
About the Author
Robert Storr is dean of the Yale University School of Art and Consulting Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His numerous books include
Elizabeth Murray, Gerhard Richter: Forty Years of Painting, and
Chuck Close.
Lawrence Alloway (1926and#150;1990) was professor of art history at the State University of New York at Stony Brook from 1968 to 1981. His books include
American Pop Art and
Topics in American Art Since 1945.
James Schuyler (1923and#150;1991) is author of
The Morning of the Poem, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981, and the recently reissued novel
Whatand#8217;s for Dinner?