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Ann Lauterbach from Face of the Poet

Ann Lauterbach from Face of the Poet

Alex Katz
American, born 1927
1978
An aquatint from an illustrated book in which Alex Katz renders poet Ann Lauterbach’s head as a cool, pared-down portrait, flattening features into clear planes to capture her presence with immediacy.
You’d first notice the isolated, cropped head set against a vast white field—soft, flat skin tones, sharply outlined dark hair and a bright red collar that punctuates the composition while the subject’s direct, slightly detached gaze holds your attention.
This print exemplifies Katz’s billboard-like reduction of the figure—translating his characteristic flattened, graphic portraiture into print and helping to redefine late-20th-century American figurative art by fusing popular imagery with literary subjects.
Medium
Aquatint from an illustrated book with fourteen aquatints
Dimensions
plate (irreg.): 6 x 7 11/16" (15.2 x 19.5 cm); page: 14 3/16 x 19" (36 x 48.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired with matching funds from James R. Epstein and the National Endowment for the Arts
Accession
180.1979.6
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
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Very Similar

> 65%
Alice Notley from Face of the Poet 85%

Alice Notley from Face of the Poet

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Alice Notley from Face of the Poet 85% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 6 x 6 5/8" ... American 180.1979.8
Peter Schjeldahl from Face of the Poet 85%

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Peter Schjeldahl from Face of the Poet 85% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 5 15/16 x 6... American 180.1979.12
John Perreault from Face of the Poet 85%

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John Perreault from Face of the Poet 85% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 6 x 6" (15.... American 180.1979.9
Michael Lally from Face of the Poet 85%

Michael Lally from Face of the Poet

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Michael Lally from Face of the Poet 85% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 6 x 6 11/16... American 180.1979.5
Ted Greenwald from Face of the Poet 84%

Ted Greenwald from Face of the Poet

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Ted Greenwald from Face of the Poet 84% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 6 1/8 x 6 1... American 180.1979.4
Ted Berrigan from Face of the Poet 83%

Ted Berrigan from Face of the Poet

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Ted Berrigan from Face of the Poet 83% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 6 x 6" (15.... American 180.1979.1
Tony Towle from Face of the Poet 82%

Tony Towle from Face of the Poet

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Tony Towle from Face of the Poet 82% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 5 15/16 x 6... American 180.1979.13
Gerald Malanga from Face of the Poet 82%

Gerald Malanga from Face of the Poet

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Gerald Malanga from Face of the Poet 82% Alex Katz 1978 Aquatint from an illustrated book wit... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints plate (irreg.): 6 x 6 3/16"... American 180.1979.7