Alex Katz

Library Journal

A recent entry in Phaidon's "Contemporary Artists" series, this book presents a trove of information about Alex Katz (b. 1927), known for his large-format portraits and landscape paintings. It contains a specially-commissioned interview with Katz; a survey of his career and key works; an essay focusing on a single work; a selection of Katz's writings; the "Artist's Choice" of literature that has inspired him; and an illustrated chronology containing exhibitions, major projects, articles, and interviews. The authors include Ratcliff, an art critic who has written extensively about 19th- and 20th-century art and contributed four essays to catalogs of Katz's exhibitions; Robert Storr (modern art, NYU), former curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and Iwona Blazwick (director, Whitechapel Gallery), formerly of the Tate Modern and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. The main author, though, is Alex Katz, speaking through his works of art, 120 of which are illustrated in color. The book updates and complements Irving Sandler's Alex Katz: A Retrospective. Recommended for academic and art libraries.-Martha Smith, Gannett-Tripp Lib., Elmira Coll., NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.