Roy Lichtenstein Market Watch 2023

Discover Lichtenstein's dominant presence in the 2023 art market in The Art Investment Report. Explore the most investable prints from Lichtenstein's trending series on the MAB100 Print Market Index.

LICHTENSTEIN PRINT MARKET H1 2023: QUARTERLY SALES

One intriguing aspect of Lichtenstein’s market is the consistent strength in sales volume, which doesn't always align with the highest average selling prices (ASPs). Over the five-year period, Q2 and Q4 consistently exhibit robust performances, resulting in impressive comprehensive turnovers year-on-year (YoY). However, Q2 of 2022 stands out with a yearly total sales figure of £1.8 million (hammer), showing a significant -77% deviation from the current status in 2023. While the upcoming June auction sales will affect Q2's performance in 2023, surpassing the previous year's results without a seven-figure sale appears unlikely at this stage.

LICHTENSTEIN PRINT MARKET H1 2023: TOTAL SALES

Despite experiencing negative fluctuations, Lichtenstein’s market displays a pattern of YoY corrections in total sales and ASPs. Remarkably, his ASP rebounded by 78% in 2019 and an impressive 166% in 2021, a year that also boasted the second-highest sales volume over the five-year period. High ASPs in correlation with a large sales volume indicate strong demand and supply activity. This correlation highlights that the artworks sold in those years held significant financial value. Nevertheless, Lichtenstein’s enduring appeal and marketability remain evident, with an average selling price compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.51%. While this figure may seem comparatively lower than other American Pop Artists, it still represents significant growth that would yield a positive return over an extended holding period.

Download THE AMERICAN POP REPORT for in-depth insights into Lichtenstein's print market, along with comprehensive analysis of market trends spanning the past five years.

Lichtenstein Auction Performance

Recent May 2023 auctions have once again demonstrated Lichtenstein's ability to achieve significant seven-figure sales for his paintings. A standout example is the successful sale of Water Lily Pond With Reflections (1992) at Sotheby’s, exceeding its high pre-sale estimate. While it is too early to predict the exact course of Lichtenstein’s market performance for the rest of 2023, the high YoY sales volume over the past five years suggests the potential for significant sales in the remaining quarters. Notably, Q4 has consistently generated the highest overall turnover.

Furthermore, Lichtenstein is currently a revolving topic in the media. A recently released documentary titled “WHAAM! BLAAM!’’ boldly explores Lichtenstein's art of appropriation, a subject that has long sparked contentious debates in art history. Nonetheless, Lichtenstein is not the first artist to stir controversy and won't be the last. Additionally, as the artist’s 100th birthday nears in October of this year, The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation will be gifting nearly 200 works to various esteemed museums. These topical events typically propel an artist’s market and also present the opportunity that one of those works will inevitably hit the secondary market.

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The Lichtenstein Market Recap 2023

Roy Lichtenstein’s market performance in 2023 was largely fuelled by the prolific output of his works. Over the past five years, Lichtenstein’s sales volume has displayed an impressive upward trend, with only a minor dip of -19% in 2020, which pales in comparison to the 14% surge in sales volume witnessed in 2023. This year, his market recorded an impressive 260 successful sales.

Lichtenstein’s quarterly total sales output exhibited remarkable consistency compared to the five previous years, with Q2 and Q4 emerging as standout quarters throughout the year, each contributing to a total sales in the seven-figure range. What’s even more noteworthy is that Lichtenstein’s market and influential presence appeared to defy economic challenges, resulting in a total sales of £7.6 million (hammer). This figure represents a remarkable 19% increase from the total sales in 2022 and is 13% higher than the figures recorded in 2021.

It’s worth highlighting that the total sales for Lichtenstein’s 2023 print market reflect the second-highest result within the last five-year period compared to the record high achieved in 2019, marking £8.9 million (hammer). This result signals a significant upward trajectory in his market performance.

Lichtenstein’s robust sales volume aligns with the abundance of prints and diverse series within his extensive oeuvre. In Q1, two significant sales from Lichtenstein’s Bull Profile series took place at Sotheby’s and Bonhams in March. These sales demonstrated an ASP of $139,287 (USD) between them. A standout sale in June, and first-time appearance in 2023, was I Love Liberty (1982), capturing the essence of American spirit inherent in Pop Art, which realised £57,150. While Water Lily Pond With Reflections (1992) remains Lichtenstein’s top-selling print work from 2023, achieving $1.8 million (USD) at Sotheby’s New York, there were other prolific sales that indicated trends that are anticipated to persist into 2024.

Nudes

Undoubtedly, Lichtenstein’s most celebrated series throughout 2023 was his Nudes series, created in 1994 consisting of seven works. Entering Q2, Nude With Blue Hair commanded attention realising $762,000 (USD) with fees at Sotheby’s New York, marking the second-highest price ever achieved for this artwork. Nude Reading, also sold at Sotheby’s and Phillips New York sales in April, fetching $165,100 (USD) and $203,200 (USD), respectively.

Continuing to assert their popularity in Q3, Two Nudes, fetched £254,000 at Phillips setting a new auction record. In Q4 alone, four works from this series made notable appearances, marking the highest sales volume for any quarter during the auction calendar. Among these, Nude Reading took the spotlight, with the highest sale fetching $126,000 (USD) at William Doyle New York and Nude With Yellow Pillow appeared in Phillips New York as an Artist Proof (AP) selling for $546,100 (USD), becoming the star lot of the sale and setting a new auction record for this print.

1960s

Lichtenstein’s works from the 1960s present an intriguing categorisation. While they still prominently feature his iconic female muse, these pieces are more indicative of his early artistic development. However, it was his later works, specifically those from the 1990s, that appeared to be the preferred choice among collectors in 2023. Nonetheless, these 1960s creations continue to command significant prices, and their demand has remained strong throughout the year.

In Q2 at Sotheby’s New York, Crying Girl (1963) and Shipboard Girl (1965) achieved $53,340 (USD) and $48,260 (USD), respectively. Also gracing the auction stage in Q4 sales was The Melody Haunts My Reverie (1965), which achieved $158,750 (USD) at Phillips New York. Although these sales did not set auction records, they were strong and aligned with other robust sales from Lichtenstein’s 1960s period.

Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes

Additionally, Lichtenstein’s Landscapes, Moonscapes, Seascapes series garnered attention throughout 2023. His artistic reinterpretation of landscape settings demonstrated not only the enduring appeal of women in his works but also the versatility of his artistic practice.

Among these works, Moonscape (C. 212) (1985) appeared in Q2 at Bonhams New York selling for $164,175 (USD); setting an auction record and also ranking among Lichtenstein’s top-selling works for 2023. Additionally, Seascape (1985) emerged at Phillips New York in Q4, climbing just above its series counterpart achieving a record price of $165,100 (USD) and also ranking among Lichtenstein’s top-selling works for 2023. Given the breadth of this series, it is expected that these pieces will resurface and continue to capture attention in 2024.

Lichtenstein's impact continues to resonate strongly in the latter part of 2023. His print market boasts a historically high transaction volume across diverse series, catering to varied preferences. From his early series, created in the 1960s, he continued to advance his experimentation with different print techniques, blending painted swathes and Ben-Day dot methods. The latest top sales data for October underscores the enduring popularity of his Reflections series and his Nudes collection.

Our value index blends public auction data and private sales data from our collectors network. Our market value index uses artwork & artist data and a Repeat-Sales Regression (RSR) approach. Using the sale price of individual prints to estimate the fluctuations in the value of an average representative print over a unique period of time.

Our algorithm tracks over 48,500 auction histories & our own private sales data across 3,500 artworks spanning 30 years, including signed, unsigned, APs, PPs, TPs and sets of prints & editions.

We use several metrics when comparing artists:

1. Market Size: the total value in sales in £GBP over a given period.
2. Transaction Volume: the total number of sales over a given period
3. Average Sales Price (ASP): the average price of a sale over a given period.
4. Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR): a measurement used to smoothen the annual growth rate over a given period.
5. Year-on-Year (YoY): a direct comparison between the latest year and the previous year.