Anchorage Museum displays rare complete set of Machetanz prints

ANCHORAGE — An exhibit titled “The Fifty Stone Lithographs of Fred Machetanz” will be on display Nov. 29 through Feb. 26, 2012, at the Anchorage Museum.

Machetanz, who died in 2002, was one of the state’s most popular artists, known for his paintings and prints depicting daily life in Alaska. One of his most impressive accomplishments was the creation of 50 stone lithographs between 1946 and 1980. He printed just 100 of each design.

Today, Machetanz’s 50 lithographs are some of his most sought-after work and only three public institutions are known to have complete sets.

The lithographs feature beautiful renderings of Alaskans, Alaska Native traditional life, wildlife and more.

“Old Alaska is rapidly disappearing, and I want to preserve what I can before it too is gone,” Fred Machetanz said in 1965. “In a way, I want to do for Alaska what Remington did for the Old West.”

Fine art lithography is a notoriously frustrating medium. First, an image is drawn with a greasy substance onto a flat, prepared stone. Then, the image is etched into the stone’s surface, so the grease etching will repel ink. One-by-one, the stone is inked and an impression is made on paper. If one thing goes wrong, the print is irreparable.