Name: Poster For The Parrish Art Museum
Brand: Roy Lichtenstein
Rating: 4.9 (189 reviews)

Meaning & Analysis

Roy Lichtenstein’s Poster For The Parrish Art Museum was completed in 1982 in conjunction with the artist’s first retrospective exhibition held at the art institution that year. The work features Lichtenstein’s most iconic figure of all; his cartoon heroine. This signed screen print belongs to a limited edition of 60.

Roy Lichtenstein’s cartoon heroines of the 1960s propelled him to the forefront of the Pop Art movement, cementing his iconic status in the realms of contemporary art. Interrogating the historical representation of femininity, the artist frequently returned to the topic of gender politics. His Nudes of the 1990s are one of the most famous printed series of works centred around the theme.

Lichtenstein crops closely on the melancholic female figure featured on his Poster For The Parrish Art Museum. Sourced from an extensive archive of comic strips and movie stills, the artist presents her emotional turmoil through the simplest and most essential forms. In line with Reverie and Crying Girl, the woman stares directly at the observer. She leans into view, imposing her unapologetic and saddened self upon the spectator.

It is clear that Lichtenstein utilises a familiar, yet reformed pictorial language in this work. Tightly clustered Ben Day dots in certain parts denote shadow, while patterns in other areas are soft and sparse, representing light. The work was created in conjunction with Lichtenstein’s first retrospective exhibition held at The Parrish Art Museum in 1982. The print was used as the poster for the show and reveals a perfect distillation of Lichtenstein’s graphic pop lexicon.