Alex Katz Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Alex Katz Foundation was launched to collect contemporary art. Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, is a particular site of philanthropy, as are other university museums and art museums.

IP TAKE: The charity keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.

PROFILE: The Alex Katz Foundation was founded in 2004 by painter Alex Katz and his wife Ada. The foundation does not maintain a website, which restricts further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. The Alex Katz Foundation was launched to collect contemporary art. Much of the foundation’s collection features artists with ties to New York City.

Alex Katz has strong ties to Colby College in Maine, and has been a summer resident of the state since 1954. In the mid-1990s, the Colby College Museum of Art opened a new wing dedicated to the work of Alex Katz, who donated over 400 pieces to the Museum’s collection, including major oil paintings, cutouts, collages, prints and drawings. Colby’s collection now includes nearly 700 Katz works.

Grants range from $720 to $650,000. In a recent tax year, the Alex Katz Foundation awarded around $3.6 million in grants. Past work includes a contribution of Lois Dodd’s “Statue of Liberty + Sunset” to Art Institute of Chicago, Donald Baechler’s “Sins of Omission” to Bowdoin College Museum of Art, and James Wolanin’s “Time Square” to the James A. Michener Art Museum.

The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.

PEOPLE:

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).

CONTACT:

Alex Katz Foundation
192 Lexington Avenue, No 110
New York, NY 10016