Roy Lichtenstein

£20,000-£30,000Value
Indicator

$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator

$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator

¥180,000-¥270,000 Value Indicator

€23,000-€35,000 Value Indicator

$200,000-$300,000 Value Indicator

¥3,720,000-¥5,580,000 Value Indicator

$25,000-$40,000 Value Indicator

36% AAGR (5YR)

This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

There aren’t enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

November 2022

Christie's New York - United States

Sunrise - Signed Ceramic

June 2020

Germann Auctions - Switzerland

Sunrise - Signed Ceramic

September 2016

Christie's New York - United States

Sunrise - Signed Ceramic

April 2016

Sotheby's New York - United States

Sunrise - Signed Ceramic

July 2015

Christie's New York - United States

Sunrise - Signed Ceramic

April 2015

Doyle New York - United States

Sunrise - Signed Ceramic

February 2015

Christie's New York - United States

Sunrise - Signed Ceramic

Meaning & Analysis

Roy Lichtenstein’s continuous revision of the landscape genre is an important part of his early artistic oeuvre. Executed in 1966, Sunrise is one of the individual landscape depictions featured in Lichtenstein’s Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes sequence. Incorporating his strong, bold lines and passages of accentuated colour, the print also features the artist’s signature Ben Day dots.

Presented in horizontal format, Sunrise shows a bright yellow disc representing the sun arising in the middle of the composition. Its rays are gathered together in blue beams surrounding the main circular shape in the centre. The yellow tinge of the sun is reflected in the clouds above, while also illuminating the bluish sea stretched out beneath the horizon line. Lichtenstein uses a gradation of blue dots to compose the calm surface of the water.

Sunrise is a rare example of porcelain enamel on perforated steel. Although the work was prepared successively by hand, it was perfected using machines. Lichtenstein’s mechanised process of creation distorts the imagery. Therefore, the composition is as much a sly criticism of consumerism, as it is a pop rendition of a landscape. Lichtenstein conducts a quest for harmony here, sustained by the elementary and associative forms that characterise his interpretation of the sun motif.

Roy Lichtenstein's Sunrise, an enamel artwork from 1966, is estimated to be worth £20,000 to £30,000 and has been sold at auction 10 times. In the last five years, the hammer price has ranged from £15,264 in June 2020 to £21,892 in November 2022, demonstrating an average annual growth rate of 48%. Although there were no sales in the last 12 months, this artwork has been sold in three different countries, including the United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom since its initial sale in October 2008. Each piece of this artwork is signed by the artist, and the edition size is limited to 75.
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.