Pop Art
Perhaps one of the most influential contemporary-art movements, Pop art emerged in the 1950s. In stark contrast to traditional artistic practice, it drew on imagery from popular culture — comic books, advertising, product packaging and other commercial media — to create paintings and sculptures that celebrated ordinary life in the most literal way.
Pop art started in Britain as a reaction, both positive and critical, to the period’s consumerism. Its goal was to put popular culture on the same level as so-called high culture.
Richard Hamilton’s 1956 collage Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? is widely believed to have kickstarted this unconventional new style.
Pop art works are distinguished by their bold imagery, bright colors and seemingly commonplace subject matter. Practitioners sought to challenge the status quo, breaking with the perceived elitism of the previously dominant Abstract Expressionism and making statements about current events. Other key characteristics of Pop art include appropriation of imagery and techniques from popular and commercial culture; use of different media and formats; repetition in imagery and iconography; incorporation of mundane objects from advertisements, cartoons and other popular media; hard edges; and ironic and witty treatment of subject matter.
Although British artists launched the movement, they were soon overshadowed by their American counterparts. Pop art is perhaps most closely identified with Andy Warhol, whose clever appropriation of motifs and images helped to transform the artistic style into a lifestyle. Most of the best-known Pop artists started in commercial art (Warhol made whimsical drawings as a hobby during his early years as a commercial illustrator), a background that helped them in merging high and popular culture.
Roy Lichtenstein was another prominent American Pop artist. Much like Warhol, Lichtenstein drew his subjects from print media, particularly comic strips, producing paintings and sculptures characterized by primary colors, bold outlines and halftone dots, elements appropriated from commercial printing. Recontextualizing a lowbrow image by importing it into a fine-art context was a trademark of his style. Neo-pop artists like Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami further blurred the line between art and popular culture.
Pop art rose to prominence largely through the work of a handful of men creating works that were unemotional and distanced — in other words, stereotypically masculine. However, there were many important female Pop artists, such as Rosalyn Drexler, whose significant contributions to the movement are recognized today. Best known for her work as a playwright and novelist, Drexler also created paintings and collages embodying Pop art themes and stylistic features.
Read more about the history of Pop art and the style’s famous artists, and browse a collection of Pop art prints, photography and other works on 1stDibs.
1980s Pop Art
Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Resin, Vinyl
2010s Pop Art
Oil, Board
2010s Pop Art
Glass, Oil, Board
2010s Pop Art
Board, Resin, Mixed Media, Oil
1980s Pop Art
Lithograph, Offset
2010s Pop Art
Glass, Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Mixed Media
2010s Pop Art
Glass, Oil, Board
1980s Pop Art
Offset
2010s Pop Art
Resin
2010s Pop Art
Glass, Oil, Board
2010s Pop Art
Oil, Board
2010s Pop Art
Acrylic
2010s Pop Art
Resin, Mixed Media, Oil, Board
2010s Pop Art
Oil, Board
2010s Pop Art
Oil, Board
2010s Pop Art
Oil, Board, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Cotton
2010s Pop Art
Mixed Media, Oil, Board, Resin
2010s Pop Art
Oil, Board, Resin, Mixed Media
1980s Pop Art
Lithograph, Offset
2010s Pop Art
Varnish, Lithograph, Offset
1980s Pop Art
Paper, Lithograph, Offset
1980s Pop Art
Screen, Lithograph
2010s Pop Art
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Monoprint
1980s Pop Art
Aquatint
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Spray Paint, Acrylic
1960s Pop Art
Screen
1980s Pop Art
Screen
2010s Pop Art
Giclée
1980s Pop Art
Offset
2010s Pop Art
Acrylic
2010s Pop Art
Acrylic
1980s Pop Art
Lithograph, Offset
1980s Pop Art
Lithograph, Offset
2010s Pop Art
Acrylic Polymer, Glitter
2010s Pop Art
Acrylic
2010s Pop Art
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Offset
2010s Pop Art
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Offset, Paper
1980s Pop Art
Offset
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Vinyl, Resin
1970s Pop Art
Handmade Paper, Etching, Aquatint
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
C Print
1980s Pop Art
Polaroid
1980s Pop Art
Offset
1990s Pop Art
Lithograph
2010s Pop Art
Ceramic, Automotive Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Canvas, Resin, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Plastic
1980s Pop Art
Offset, Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Oil
1960s Pop Art
Offset, Lithograph
1980s Pop Art
Offset
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art
Resin, Vinyl
1960s Pop Art
Screen
Keith Haring art for sale on 1stDibs
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