Francis (from the Give Me Tomorrow portfolio): one print, 1984
Artist: Alex Katz
Title: Michael Lally (from the Face of the Poet portfolio)
Year: 1978
Medium: Aquatint in colours
Paper: J. Green Hot Press
Image Size: 15 × 17 cm (5 7/8 × 6 3/4 in)
Sheet Size: 37 × 48 cm (14 1/2 × 19 in)
Edition: 25 — signed and numbered lower left: "Alex Katz /25"
Printer: Prawat Laucharoen, New York
Publisher: Co-published by Brooke Alexander, Inc., New York and Marlborough Graphics, Inc., New York
Reference: Schröder 101
Type: Limited edition aquatint — from the Face of the Poet portfolio
Description
Michael Lally (1978) is a print from one of Alex Katz's most intimate and culturally significant portfolios — Face of the Poet, a series of portraits of American poets from Katz's New York circle, produced as aquatints in colours and co-published by Brooke Alexander and Marlborough Graphics in 1978. Michael Lally — the Irish-American poet, actor, and cultural figure whose work circulated in the downtown New York scene of the 1970s — is presented in Katz's signature manner: cropped close, centred on the sheet, the face rendered in flat warm colour zones against the white of the J. Green Hot Press paper, the gaze direct and self-possessed.
The aquatint medium — in which tone is produced by acid-biting a resin-dusted plate to create a granular, velvety surface — suits Katz's pictorial language with particular precision: the flat areas of warm ochre skin, dark brown hair, and the plaid shirt are rendered with a smoothness and a luminosity that lithography or screenprint would approach differently. The result is a portrait of extraordinary economy — no background, no context, no narrative, only the face and the direct encounter between subject and viewer that Katz has always insisted is the fundamental subject of portraiture.
The Face of the Poet portfolio places Katz within the long tradition of artist-poet collaboration in New York — from the Abstract Expressionist generation's engagement with Frank O'Hara to the New York School's embedding of visual art within a broader cultural conversation. The poets depicted are not subjects in the conventional sense but collaborators, friends, and intellectual companions — figures whose relationship to Katz was as formative as his relationship to painting. Referenced in the catalogue raisonné as Schröder 101, this impression is from an edition of just 25 — one of the smallest and most exclusive in Katz's print catalogue
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FAQ
Is this an original Alex Katz print?
Yes — an original aquatint in colours on J. Green Hot Press paper, signed and numbered by the artist lower left, from an edition of 25.
What is the Face of the Poet portfolio?
Face of the Poet is a portfolio of colour aquatint portraits of American poets from Katz's New York circle, produced in 1978 and co-published by Brooke Alexander, Inc. and Marlborough Graphics, Inc., New York. It is one of the most significant artist-poet collaborative projects of its decade.
What is the edition size?
25 impressions — one of the smallest and most exclusive editions in Katz's print catalogue.
Is this work referenced in the catalogue raisonné?
Yes — listed as Schröder 101 in the authoritative reference for Katz's prints.
Who printed this work?
Prawat Laucharoen, New York — a specialist printer known for his work with leading American artists of the period.
Who published this work?
Co-published by Brooke Alexander, Inc. and Marlborough Graphics, Inc., New York — two of the most respected print publishers in American art history.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes — worldwide, with museum-grade flat packaging, full insurance, and shipment tracking.
