About this artwork
Katz began painting beach scenes in the late 1990s, painting 'en plein air' in an attempt to grasp the colours and light of a specific moment. In this Florida beach scene he explores the quiet atmosphere of artificial light after midnight. Katz has been painting portraits of his family and friends since the 1950s; these are now seen as precursors to Pop Art. Small oil paintings such as this one are sketched from life and often intended to be scaled up into larger works, but their economic execution and visible brushstrokes reveal an intimate side to his practice. He says, "A sketch is very direct. It is working empirically, inside of an idea."
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:West Palm Beach
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date created:1997
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materials:Oil paint on hardboard
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measurements:22.80 x 29.90 x 0.30 cm; Framed: 24.90 x 32.00 x 3.40 cm
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object type:
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credit line:ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
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accession number:AR00010
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gallery:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Alex Katz
Alex Katz
Brooklyn born Katz emerged as a figurative artist when abstract expressionism was the reigning style. He studied at Cooper Union School of Art, New York, from 1946-9, before completing a scholarship in Skowhegen, Maine. While Katz has experimented with collage and printmaking, it is for his...