The most prolific post-war American painter, Alex Katz has a unique
approach to painting the human face. “Large format, pared-down and cropped,
his people are the epitome of New York cool” (National Portrait Gallery). In
1998 Art Historian Irving Sandler wrote that Ada “is woman, wife, mother,
muse, model, social hostess, myth, icon, and New York goddess.” In 2006, the
Jewish Museum hosted a solo show and published a book entitled Alex Katz
Paints Ada, a distinct nod to the significance of his other half’s role in his work.

In this cut-out, Ada's two head shots, front and back, create a cinematic
and narrative presence - liberating the figure from "the painting" and giving it
new life as a stand-alone object.