In 1961, artist Harry Jackson, who would become known as one of the major sculptors of the American West, painted the life-size painting of Lax shown here. As mentioned on page 238 of my book Pure Act, the painting, titled “Portrait of the Poet Robert Lax,” appeared in an exhibition called The Continuing Tradition of Realism in American Art. I don’t know what became of the painting but this photograph of it is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It was taken by the wonderful photographer Walter Rosenblum, a sampling of whose work appears here.
For more about Harry Jackson and his work in bronze, go to the home page for the Harry Jackson Studios. Here’s one of his bronze sculptures from the Smithsonian’s collection–Trail Boss, cast in 1958:
