Katz (1918–97), a former
Black Mountain College student, established the press from the proceeds of a sale of his father's collection of Thomas Eakins paintings to
Joseph Hirshhorn; and
Message From the Interior a collection of photographs by
Walker Evans, who was best known for his work for the
Farm Security Administration that captured the effects of the
Great Depression. For the next three decades, until his death in 1997, Katz published 56 books that were described by
The New York Times as being "notable for their meticulous, elegant design", including works of photography, poetry, sculpture and the
New York City Ballet. Since Katz's death in 1997, the Eakins Press Foundation continues to produce its "invaluable explorations of the American imagination" with publications including
Circus: The Photographs of Frederick W. Glasier in 2009;
Jed Perl's collection of essays on art and culture,
Magicians & Charlatans in 2013; and '''O, Write My Name': American Portraits, Harlem Heroes'' (2015), a collection of fifty portraits taken by
Carl Van Vechten of extraordinary individuals from the
Harlem Renaissance. The current Director of the Eakins Press Foundation is
Peter Kayafas. ==References==