Roy
Lichtenstein
Discover art for sale. Buy and sell prints & editions online by Roy Lichtenstein. First arriving to fame with his reproductions of comic book panels, it was Lichtenstein's depictions of contemporary culture that secured his status as a true Pop artist.
Roy Lichtenstein
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Biography
A key pillar of the Pop Art movement Roy Lichtenstein redefined Contemporary art with his signature comic-book and advertisement inspired style. His distinctive artistic style, inspired by comic books, advertising and consumerism in post-war America, remains powerfully relevant today.
Beginnings
Roy Fox Lichtenstein was born in New York on 27 October 1923. As a child, he visited museums and concerts with his mother and younger sister, developing a lifelong love of jazz and art. He studied painting and drawing under American painter Reginald Marsh and later enrolled at Ohio State University, where he trained as a classical painter. After serving briefly in the US army, Lichtenstein went on to teach at Ohio State University. He exhibited throughout the 1950s but struggled to find his style.
First Paintings
Lichtenstein made his breakthrough Pop Art work, Look Mickey, in 1961, when he was 37 years old. The painting was based on an illustration from the book Donald Duck Lost And Found, owned by one of Lichtenstein’s sons. It marked the first time Lichtenstein fused painting with pop culture. He would later remember the direction as 'brave, risky and so far from anything I’d been taught in art schools. It was saying something about real life, and it wasn’t done as a joke. But I knew that it couldn’t be taken seriously.'
Success
'Is he the worst artist in America?' asked a Life magazine article about Lichtenstein in 1964. Nonetheless, the artist was enjoying critical acclaim – not just in the United States but worldwide – alongside his contemporaries Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Claes Oldenburg.
Over his career, Lichtenstein made more than 5,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and other works, which are now housed in the world’s most prestigious institutions and collections – including the Tate Modern in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Most Famous Works
Lichtenstein’s most famous works include Whaam!, Drowning Girl and Crying Girl – all of which are underscored with parody and satire, transforming mainstream motifs and clichés into works of art. 'Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn't look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself,' he said. The way he has blurred the distinction between popular culture and so-called high art has paved the way for artists like KAWS and Takashi Murakami today.
Influences
In 1966, Lichtenstein said that Cubism, Cartooning and Commercial Art were his clearest influences. Although he is best known for his comic book style artworks, Lichtenstein referenced art history, ranging from classical Chinese scroll paintings to Abstract Expressionism.
'Artists have often converted the work of other artists into their own style,' Lichtenstein admitted. He has recreated masterpieces from Claude Monet’s Haystacks to Picasso’s portraits and Jackson Pollock’s sweeping brushstrokes in his signature Benday dots. 'I’m interested in my work’s redeveloping these classical ways, except that it’s not classical, it’s like a cartoon. I’m interested because of the impact it has when you look at it.'
Style & Techniques
Lichtenstein borrowed techniques from comic strips and commercial printing, most notably the Ben-Day dot, but he maintained he was not just a simple copyist. 'I am nominally copying,' he said, 'but I am really restating the copied thing in other terms. In doing that, the original acquires a totally different texture. It isn't thick or thin brushstrokes, it's dots and flat colours and unyielding lines.'
Lichtenstein’s paintings may look machine-made, but each dot is carefully and painstakingly painted by hand. For his painting Whaam!, Lichtenstein created his signature Ben-Day dots using an aluminium mesh as a template, pushing oil paint through the holes using a toothbrush.
Life & Times
In 1949, Lichtenstein married his first wife Isabel Wilson, with whom he had two sons. The couple separated in 1962. Dramatic paintings of romance and conflict – from explosive war scenes like Whaam! to the heartbroken Drowning Girl and Engagement Rings – soon followed, possibly a reflection of Lichtenstein’s own hopes and disappointments surrounding his personal life. 'I was interested in anything I could use as a subject that was emotionally strong. Usually love, war, or something that was highly charged and emotional subject matter,' the artist later recalled.
Lichtenstein married his second wife Dorothy Herzka in 1968. They lived together in Southampton, New York, from 1970 until Lichtenstein’s death in 1997. Dorothy is now president of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Last Paintings
Lichtenstein began his final series, Nudes, in 1993 until his death in 1997, with Interior With Nude Leaving being one of his final works. The painting is especially unique as the nude is walking off-screen, barely seen at all. It suggested that Lichtenstein was beginning to experiment with new compositions and styles.
On The Market
In January 2017, Lichtenstein’s Masterpiece (1962) sold for an incredible $165 million in a private sale, making it among the 15 highest valued artworks ever. The artist has sustained a consistent level of popularity both during and after his lifetime. The range of his print portfolio, encompassing signed limited-edition screen prints and lithographs, makes them accessible to a large audience of collectors.
