Name: Road Before The Forest
Brand: Roy Lichtenstein
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

Roy Lichtenstein's Road Before The Forest, a signed Planographic Print from 1985, is estimated to be worth between £70,000 and £100,000. This artwork has been sold 11 times at auction since its initial sale on 2nd November 2007. In the past five years, the hammer price has ranged from £57,729 in November 2023 to £72,372 in April 2024. The average annual growth rate of this work is 3%. The edition size of this piece is limited to 60.

Meaning & Analysis

Roy Lichtenstein's artistic practice was in equal measure inspired by innovation and retrospection. His frequent revision of the formal qualities of the landscape genre spans over three decades of his career. The resulting Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes are a testament to Lichtenstein’s creative singularity. As part of his extensive sequence, the artist completed several autonomous portfolios.

Road Before the Forest was executed in 1985 and belongs to Lichtenstein’s picturesque Landscapes suites. The work relies on poignant details, as it presents a simple image charged with complex associations.Road Before the Forest abides by its title, depicting a roadside neatly lined with a row of trees. The green and yellow branches conceal a dark forest, denoted by black, red and blue sweeps of colour. The whole scene appears to be swaying gently in the wind. Road Before the Forest unites vibrant hand-painted components with Lichtenstein’s simplistic machine-made shapes. Consequently, the layout becomes similarly abstracted as the artist’s concurrent Brushstroke Faces.

Besides dissecting the traditional features of landscape painting, Lichtenstein’s Landscapes series integrates an additional referential layer. The explosive pastel-toned and primary coloured portraits in this suite imitate the idealised brushwork of the abstract expressionists. The emotive brushstrokes mimic nature in motion, while also critiquing the authenticity granted painterly gestures in the past.

Roy Lichtenstein, born in New York, 1923, is a seminal figure in the Pop Art movement, renowned for his comic book and advertisement-inspired artworks. His transformative journey from classical painter to Pop Art pioneer began with his iconic piece, Look Mickey, marking the fusion of painting with pop culture. Lichtenstein’s works, including Whaam!, Drowning Girl, and Crying Girl, blend parody and satire, challenging the boundaries between popular culture and ‘high art’. With over 5,000 pieces to his name, Lichtenstein’s enduring influence resonates in contemporary art, his works celebrated in prestigious institutions worldwide.