American Postage Stamps
Early 20th Century Central American Edwardian Decorative Boxes
Silver
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Found Objects, Archival Paper, Color Pencil
20th Century More Art
Wool
1970s Pop Art Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Lithograph, Ink, Offset
1970s Pop Art Abstract Prints
Offset, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Ink
Early 2000s American Realist Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
Antique 1890s Central American Victorian Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
Early 2000s American Realist Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
1970s Abstract Abstract Sculptures
Archival Paper, Permanent Marker
2010s Pop Art Color Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Lithograph
2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Found Objects, Color Pencil
2010s Contemporary More Prints
Digital
2010s Contemporary Interior Prints
Lithograph
2010s Contemporary Interior Prints
Lithograph
2010s Pop Art Color Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
2010s Conceptual Color Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
2010s Pop Art Color Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
2010s Pop Art Color Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
1940s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
2010s Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Found Objects, Color Pencil
2010s Contemporary Animal Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Found Objects, Color Pencil
1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Board, Gouache
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
2010s Pop Art Color Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
2010s Pop Art Color Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
2010s Pop Art Color Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color
1940s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
1910s American Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Contemporary Animal Drawings and Watercolors
Found Objects, Archival Paper, Color Pencil
1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Animal Paintings
Gouache, Board
2010s Contemporary Animal Drawings and Watercolors
Found Objects, Archival Paper, Color Pencil
2010s Contemporary Animal Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Found Objects, Color Pencil
1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
2010s Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Color Pencil, Found Objects
1920s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
1990s Pop Art Black and White Photography
Silver Gelatin
1980s Pop Art Black and White Photography
Silver Gelatin
1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
1950s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
1930s American Realist Landscape Paintings
Gouache, Board
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A Close Look at pop-art Art
Perhaps one of the most influential contemporary art movements, Pop art emerged in the 1950s. In stark contrast to traditional artistic practice, its practitioners drew on imagery from popular culture — comic books, advertising, product packaging and other commercial media — to create original Pop art paintings, prints and sculptures that celebrated ordinary life in the most literal way.
ORIGINS OF POP ART
- Started in Britain in the 1950s, flourished in 1960s-era America
- “This is Tomorrow,” at London's Whitechapel Gallery in 1956, was reportedly the first Pop art exhibition
- A reaction to postwar mass consumerism
- Transitioning away from Abstract Expressionism
- Informed by neo-Dada and artists such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg; influenced postmodernism and Photorealism
CHARACTERISTICS OF POP ART
- Bold imagery
- Bright, vivid colors
- Straightforward concepts
- Engagement with popular culture
- Incorporation of everyday objects from advertisements, cartoons, comic books and other popular mass media
POP ARTISTS TO KNOW
- Richard Hamilton
- Andy Warhol
- Marta Minujín
- Claes Oldenburg
- Eduardo Paolozzi
- Rosalyn Drexler
- James Rosenquist
- Peter Blake
- Roy Lichtenstein
ORIGINAL POP ART ON 1STDIBS
The Pop art movement started in the United Kingdom 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 American Pop artist Andy Warhol, whose clever appropriation of motifs and images helped to transform the artistic style into a lifestyle. Most of the best-known American artists associated with Pop art 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 Pop artist that was active in the United States. 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 the collection of original Pop art paintings, prints, photography and other works for sale on 1stDibs.