Face of the Poet, 1978

Alex Katz (b. 1927) is one of the most influential American painters and printmakers of the postwar era, celebrated for his instantly recognizable portraits and landscapes characterized by bold color, flattened forms, and remarkable economy of line. Emerging alongside the rise of Pop Art while maintaining a distinctly independent visual language, Katz developed a style that bridges abstraction and representation, capturing the essence of his subjects with extraordinary clarity and restraint. Throughout a career spanning more than seven decades, he has portrayed artists, poets, dancers, and members of New York's creative community, producing works that convey both elegance and psychological presence. His paintings and prints are held in the collections of leading institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Tate.

*Face of the Poet* (1978) exemplifies Katz's longstanding engagement with New York's literary and artistic circles. This remarkable portfolio comprises fourteen finely executed aquatints, each signed and numbered by the artist from the rare edition of only twenty-five, accompanied by fourteen original poems contributed by an exceptional group of contemporary writers, including Ted Berrigan, Ann Lauterbach, Gerard Malanga, René Ricard, and Peter Schjeldahl, among others. Co-published by Brooke Alexander, Inc. and Marlborough Graphics, Inc., the portfolio represents a significant collaboration between visual art and poetry, reflecting the vibrant cultural exchange that defined downtown New York during the late 1970s. Combining Katz's refined, minimalist aesthetic with the voices of some of the era's most important poets, *Face of the Poet* stands as an exceptional example of interdisciplinary publishing and a highly desirable work for collectors of both contemporary art and literary history.