Alex Katz and Henri Matisse: Side-by-Side in Nice

In a recent New York Times interview, Alex Katz said that he  may have first seen a painting by Henri Matisse in a restaurant in New York in 1944, but “didn’t really get it.”

“When I saw the 1949 show at the Pierre Matisse gallery,” he said, “I had been in art school for a few years and could really appreciate the paintings. The way he took care of everything, so amazingly refined. The way he puts paint on canvas, so clear, with such ease. I learned so much about painting from looking at his work.”

The works of both Alex Katz (b. 1927) and Henri Matisse (1869-1954) are being shown together at Musée Matisse in Nice.

Both Katz and Matisse disregarded the popular art movements of their time and  painted the people and places around them. 

Aymeric Jeudy, the director of Musée Matisse and curator of the exhibit, visited Katz in his SoHo studio and suggested that Katz choose the works of Matisse for the show and allow Jeudy to choose works from Katz’s collection.

When seen side-by-side the similarity of their use of color, forms and patterns become apparent. The works are grouped together around four central ideas: the still life, portraits, landscape and dance. 

Henri Matisse – Alex Katz: The Silence of Painting opened at Musée Matisse on October 28 and will be on view through January 2027.

Works by Katz are also part of Histories of Landscapes. From Monet to Hockney (1890 - 2025) a group exhibition currently on view at Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris. The exhibit will run through January 31, 2027 and then travel to Musée de Grenoble and be on view from March 5, 2027 through July 4, 2027. 

The Museum of Modern Art has recently purchased Alex Katz’s Black Roses ll, 2025. A painting by Matisse, which has been in the MoMA collection since 1948, is the subject of a recent documentary by art historian James Payne. It tells the story of The Red Studio, 1911 and how it went from being scorned to becoming a cherished work of art,

References:

Roslyn Sulcas. ‘It Gave Me a Lot of Anxiety’: Alex Katz on Sharing the Room With Matisse. The New York Times. November 7, 2026.

Dodie Kazanjian. Visiting With Alex Katz, the 99-Year-Old Artist Who Doesn’t Stop. Vogue Magazine. October 19, 2026.

Kate Mothes. Great Art Explained Traces the Incredible Story of Henri Matisse’s ‘The Red Studio’. Colossal. November 4, 2026.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Alex Katz and Henri Matisse available at VFA.