Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery are presenting, for the first time in Carlisle, an important body of work by influential American artist Alex Katz. The works in the exhibition are drawn from the ARTIST ROOMS collection and follow a major ARTIST ROOMS display of Katz’ landscape paintings at Tate Liverpool.

The exhibition provides viewers with the opportunity to see the breadth of Katz’ practice, featuring both portraiture and landscape. With their bright and bold palette, Katz’s paintings present a modern American take on the classical themes of portraiture, landscape and flowers. His immediately recognisable style draws on American and European painting traditions and is influenced by the work of Matisse and Monet. At the same time, the crisp stylised surfaces of the paintings have an affinity with pop art.

ARTIST ROOMS is a collection of international modern and contemporary art jointly owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. ARTIST ROOMS was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.