Medium

Oil

Morris Katz (born Moshe Katz on March 5, 1932 – November 12, 2010) was a Polish-American painter. He holds two Guinness World Records as the world's fastest painter and most prolific artist. He was known as the "King of Schlock Art" and the "King of Toilet Paper Art" due to his unique painting technique using a palette knife and toilet tissue instead of a paintbrush. On October 1, 1985, Morris broke Pablo Picasso's record as the world’s most prolific artist at the Art Students League in New York City. As a Holocaust survivor, Morris showed his gratitude to the United States by undertaking his longest and most cherished project, the President Collection. Using his Instant Art method, Morris spent six years painting each US president in the “Old Master” style, averaging 200 hours per portrait. Each portrait includes the US flag with the exact number of stars per state for each president. The collection was popular worldwide. He sold millions of postcards to collectors. In 1965, Morris was commissioned by the Vatican to paint a portrait of Pope Paul VI, which sold 3 million copies worldwide. Katz was born in Galicia, Poland in 1932 and studied under Dr. Hans Fokler of the Munich Academy at age 13. During the Holocaust, he endured Nazi concentration camps and lost most of his family. After World War II, he lived in a displaced persons camp where he earned a diploma in carpentry, and later said that toilet paper was his "diploma in art".