On the occasion of an exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay / Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, the graphic was created as a triptych. Alex Katz works in the summer in his studio in the US state of Maine in the midst of nature – and near a water lily pond. Based on this motif, he has created a series of paintings in homage to Monet’s water lilies. He emphasizes: “I have been looking at these water lilies on the pond in Maine for over 50 years now, but I have never dared to paint them because of Monet. However, I said to myself that one day I would do it, and so it was.” (“The water lilies are on the pond in Maine and I’ve been looking at them for 50 years but I never touched them because of Monet. But I said you’re going to do it, and I just did it.”)

Alex Katz – Pioneer of Pop Art

Alex Katz is especially famous for his figurative paintings: The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he was born in New York in 1927. As a pioneer of Pop Art, he always concentrated on the essentials and early on, he dealt with simplified forms and contrasting color compositions. His art is diverse, but always has beauty as its central theme. The artist can now look back on more than 200 solo and around 500 group exhibitions; his diverse works are part of over 100 collections worldwide. Alex Katz lives and works in New York and Maine.