NEW YORK—Ada, Alex Katz’s wife of 50 years, is the sole focus of the “Alex Katz Paints Ada” show at the Jewish Museum on view through March 18. Nearly 40 portraits are on view, ranging from the youthful 1957 “Ada in a Black Sweater” to “Ada,” painted in 2005, where her raven hair is now streaked with gray.

But don’t be misled. Study these paintings and you won’t learn much about Ada except that she has great taste, wears hats and clothes well, and—at least as painted by her husband—can mask what she is thinking. Dubbed Katz’s muse and model, the Ada in these oil paintings is a cool, aloof, alluring icon. What counts here is the energy of the paint, the long brush strokes, the special effects of intense pigments and fluid surfaces. Katz makes it look so effortless, but he is a master of painting techniques and one of the few contemporary artists who can paint “wet on wet.”

“Katz wants you to observe how he manipulates paint, how he achieves his flat, smooth, surfaces,” says Ruth Beesch, deputy director for programs at the Jewish Museum. “He isn’t interested in emotions, he just wants the viewer to see what he sees.” For more information, visit www.thejewishmuseum.org or call 212.423.3200.