Pharrell Williams was painted by Alex Katz in his studio in Soho in 2025 during an interview for W Magazine. This painting was the inspiration for the present graphic edition. Williams is a singer, rapper, songwriter, and music producer. Since February 2023, he has also been the creative director of the men’s line at French fashion company Louis Vuitton, succeeding Virgil Abloh. Alex Katz’s portrait of Pharrell Williams marks a rare dialogue between two icons of contemporary culture. The work was created during a studio session in Katz’s loft in SoHo and reflects the mutual respect between artist and subject—both known for redefining the boundaries of their respective fields. Pharrell’s distinctive personal style and presence resonated deeply with Katz, whose decades-long commitment to capturing modern personalities with clarity and restraint is evident in this unique portrayal.

For collectors, Katz’s portraits offer a fascinating duality: they are deeply rooted in art history—drawing from Matisse, Japanese prints, and early modernism—yet they remain fresh, vibrant, and unmistakably contemporary. His work plays beautifully in modern interiors, commanding attention without overwhelming, always maintaining a sense of poise and clarity.

In recent years, there’s been a renewed appreciation for Katz’s work, particularly among a younger generation who see his minimal aesthetic and attention to surface as prescient. Museums and blue-chip galleries alike are revisiting his oeuvre with major retrospectives and publications, confirming what many of us in the art world have known for decades: Alex Katz has redefined portraiture for the contemporary age.

Alex Katz is particularly 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 explored simplified forms and high-contrast color composition early on. 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.