Alex Katz The Red Band (S. 177) For Sale

About this work

Alex Katz has long occupied a singular position in American art, bridging the gap between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art while remaining steadfastly committed to figuration. Since the 1950s, his flattened compositions, bold color fields, and cropped portraits have influenced generations of painters, and his work holds prominent positions in major institutional collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. *The Red Band (S. 177)* from 1979 exemplifies Katz's refined approach to printmaking, a medium he embraced as seriously as his paintings. The work features his characteristic economy of form—a female figure rendered with elegant simplicity, the red band of the title providing a striking compositional anchor against the artist's signature flat planes of color. Executed as a screenprint in colors on Stonehenge paper, the full sheet measures an impressive 55 x 36 inches, a scale that reinforces the monumental presence Katz consistently achieves even in his graphic work. This print comes from an edition of 60, produced during a particularly fertile period in Katz's career when his printmaking practice reached new levels of sophistication. The late 1970s saw him refining the visual language that would cement his reputation over the following decades. Schreiber 177 remains a sought-after example of Katz's ability to distill portraiture to its essential elements while maintaining psychological presence and formal rigor. For acquisition inquiries regarding this work, please contact Guy Hepner.