return JOHN UPDIKE (born 1932) by Alex Katz (born 1927) ***Image not available*** As a chronicler of modern life and the anxieties revealed in suburban existence, John Updike has established himself as one of America's most eminent men of letters. His many novels, including Rabbit Run (1960)—which chronicles the life of a former well-known athlete, Harry ("Rabbit") Angstrom, who, unable to recapture success when encumbered by marriage and small-town life, flees these responsibilities—Rabbit Redux (1971), Rabbit Is Rich (1981), and Rabbit at Rest (1990), are written in a prose style characterized by wit, detachment, and a penchant for detailing every aspect of a character's life. Prolific, Updike has also published short stories, as well as nonfiction and criticism. Alex Katz, a New York-based artist, first came to prominence in the early 1960s with the advent of the Pop Art movement. He is known for his larger-than-life portraits in which flattened forms fill the canvas. Oil on canvas, 1982 Time cover, October 18, 1982 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Gift of Time magazine NPG.84.TC156 © Alex Katz / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY return