Alex Katz's connections with Maine began in 1949, when he received a Cooper Union scholarship to study at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. The school's co-founder, Colby museum benefactor Willard Cummings, introduced the artist to Colby in the 1950s, and Katz continued his relationship with the College as a long-time summer resident of Lincolnville, Maine. Katz received an honorary doctorate from the College in 1984, has served on several museum committees, and currently sits on the Colby museum's board of governors. Katz is known for work that displays a shallow visual space highlighting the two-dimensional nature of paintings. Though many of his paintings are portraits, he does not aspire to reproduce authentic physical features or personalities. Rather, these figures are treated as symbols and serve as vehicles for exploring the formal aspects of picture-making.