Impala
Alex Katz · 1968 · Cleveland Museum of Art
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From the museum
Impala is one of at least 80 portraits Alex Katz painted of his wife, Ada. Here, he presents her as a passenger in the vivid red interior of a 1960s Chevy Impala on a drive through the American Southwest. A mountainous view of Utah is visible through the car window. Combining realism and abstraction, Katz borrows the large scale and bold forms of Abstract Expressionism to invigorate his straightforward approach to figurative painting. Katz made five quick oil sketches prior to composing Impala; because of his preparations the final image was completed in just one session.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Details
- Maker
- Alex Katz (American, b. 1927)
- Date
- 1968
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 187 x 278 x 4 cm (73 5/8 x 109 7/16 x 1 9/16 in.); Unframed: 182.9 x 276.9 cm (72 x 109 in.)
- Place of origin
- America
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · On view · 001A ArtLens Exhibition
- Credit line
- Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund and Gift of the Eppler Family Foundation and Agnes Gund