About This Stamp
The 31st stamp in the Literary Arts series honors Henry James (1843–1916), a towering figure in American literature. In novels and stories that often explored the complex interplay between Americans and Europeans, James sought to portray the intricacies of society and the inner lives of his characters with exquisite realism, an intellectual and artistic achievement that earned him a reputation as one of the greatest writers America has ever produced.
The stamp features an original painting. On the left is a portrait of Henry James based on a 1906 photograph by Alvin Langdon Coburn; on the right side, behind James, is a vignette showing a man and a woman in a small boat, an artistic interpretation of the climactic scene from James’s 1903 novel The Ambassadors.
During James’s lifetime, readers were often drawn to his novels and short stories for their accounts of passionate friendships, love affairs, and marriages that were unhappy and rife with conflict; his contemporaries also admired his realistic and thoughtful portrayals of women, especially strong, autonomous heroines failed by men and betrayed by other women. All in all, James's literary output was prodigious: 20 complete novels, more than 100 shorter pieces of fiction, several plays, and hundreds of shorter works and articles, including travel observations, literary criticism, and theater reviews. His eye for human nature has stood the test of time; interest in his work surged in the 1930s and continues to this day.
The artist for this stamp was Kate Sammons. The art director was Antonio Alcalá.
The words "THREE OUNCE" on this stamp indicate its usage value. Like a Forever® stamp, this stamp will always be valid for the rate printed on it.
Stamp Art Director
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Stamp Artist, Designer, and Typographer
Kate Sammons
Born in South Korea and raised in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Kate Sammons’s affinity for art began during grade school arts and crafts activities. Enjoying the satisfaction of working with her hands to create something beautiful, she soon developed a passion.
In 2002, she graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.F.A. in painting and went on to study at several studios, mastering the medium. Sammons began working as a professional artist in 2007. Since then, her work has appeared in gallery and museum exhibitions around the country. Her paintings have been featured in magazines such as Fine Art Connoisseur, International Artist, and American Art Collector, among others.
With an artistic style that blends representation and imagination, Sammons captures the emotion of her figures and scenes at the moment they are painted. Though she often paints whomever and whatever she sees, her family and close friends are always her favorite subjects.
Sammons lives and works in Los Angeles. Henry James (2016) is her first project for the Postal Service™.