Painting Energy: The Alex Katz Foundation Collection at the Portland Museum of Art

A comprehensive look at a collection of dynamic works built by visionary artist Alex Katz

Painting Energy highlights a transformative series of gifts from the Alex Katz Foundation to the Portland Museum of Art, encompassing more than 150 multimedia works that articulate Alex Katz’s specific vision with a focus on the 1980s as an energetic turning point in art history. Illuminated by rich illustrations, this publication highlights a collection that includes artists with strong ties to the state of Maine, such as Lois Dodd, Rackstraw Downes, and Fairfield Porter; leading artists in American modernism, such as Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, Edward Hopper, Martha Diamond, and Stuart Davis; rising contemporary artists, such as Kamrooz Aram and Chase Hall; and other luminaries, such as Phillip Guston, Anselm Kiefer, and Sigmar Polke.

This lavishly illustrated cata­logue will include an extended essay introduc­ing the artistic vision for the collection and short reflections from several artists, curators, and scholars, as well as a contribution by Katz himself providing further insight into his important collection.

Distributed for the Portland Museum of Art

Exhibition schedule:

Portland Museum of Art, ME

(May 23–September 14, 2025)