His Every Poor, Defeated, Loser’s, Hopeless Move, Loser, Buried (Ed Dorn), 1966

This edition by R. B. Kitaj exemplifies his characteristic collage-like approach to printmaking. A pale pink female figure with raised arms is combined with photographic fragments, geometric forms, a dark silhouette and printed text. The enigmatic title derives from a poem by the American poet Ed Dorn.

The work belongs to Mahler Becomes Politics, Beisbol, a portfolio of fifteen colour screenprints accompanied by a book of poems by Jonathan Williams, each relating to one of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies. Kitaj first became deeply interested in Mahler in 1964, and the composer’s connection to Vienna was particularly significant for him. Kitaj’s stepfather was a Jewish refugee from Vienna, and his engagement with Jewish identity and European culture became increasingly central to his work. His art often draws closely on his biography, weaving personal, literary and historical references into complex visual compositions.
The work is held, among others, in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Tate, London.