Although he insisted that he and his fellow Pop artists developed their art-making styles independently, American painter James Rosenquist belonged at the table with Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
Known for his distinctive use of visual montage, Rosenquist produced large, vibrantly colored tableaux marked by fragmentation and overlap. He often employed familiar motifs and objects drawn from popular contemporary culture — hot dogs, lipstick tubes, American flags — which he manipulated to form disorienting compositions whose constituent elements are nearly unrecognizable.
Born in North Dakota to Swedish parents, Rosenquist was encouraged to pursue painting by his mother, who was also an artist. He studied painting for two years at the University of Minnesota, but dropped out at the age of 21 to attend the Art Students League in New York on a scholarship. A job as a billboard painter in the late 1950s set him up to pursue his signature style, which borrowed its bold graphics and remixed kitschy aesthetic from the visual vocabulary of advertising. Works like Flamingo Capsule (1983) embody his trademark visual dissonance, drawing cigarette-ad motifs into conversation with stripes from the American flag and aluminum foil wrappers.
In addition to enormous paintings, Rosenquist created drawings, prints and collages. The 2011 lithograph The Memory Continues but the Clock Disappears is a montage of melting clocks and confetti, all submerged in a pool of water. While wryly hinting at the inevitability of decay and deterioration — suggesting that life is a ticking clock — the composition also alludes to Salvador Dalí's signature motif, the defining symbol of Surrealism. Such compositions demonstrate how Rosenquist masterfully combined seemingly incongruous elements into a harmonious and poetic whole.
Find James Rosenquist art today on 1stDibs.
| Average Sold Price |
| $1,645 |
| Styles |
| Materials |
| Related Artists |
An Intrinsic Existence - Original lithograph
By James Rosenquist
Located in Paris, IDF
James Rosenquist An Intrinsic Existence, 1975 Original lithograph (Printed in Mourlot workshop) Unsigned On vellum 31 x 24 cm Edited by San Lazarro, 1975 Excellent condition
Lithograph
Hot Lake (2nd State), Etching by James Rosenquist
By James Rosenquist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: James Rosenquist, American (1933 - ) Title: Hot Lake (2nd State) Year: 1978 Medium: Aquatint Etching, Signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 78 Size: 23 in. x 40 in. (58.42 c...
Etching, Aquatint
$6,500
H 35 in W 33.88 in
Large American Pop Art Color Abstract Lithograph James Rosenquist Glass Wishes
By James Rosenquist
Located in Surfside, FL
James Rosenquist (1933-2017) THE GLASS WISHES (Glenn 161) Color lithograph, 1978-1986, on wove paper, hand signed, dated, titled, dedicated for Jack Martin from a partner in crime. 1...
Color, Lithograph
$2,500
H 23 in W 40 in
Hot Lake (2nd State), Abstract Pop Art Etching by James Rosenquist
By James Rosenquist
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: James Rosenquist, American (1933 - ) Title: Hot Lake (2nd State) Year: 1978 Medium: Aquatint Etching, Signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 78 Size: 23 in. x 40 in. (58.42 c...
Etching, Aquatint
$165
H 39 in W 27 in
James Rosenquist Vintage Poster: Galleria del Milione 1972 full moon landscape
By James Rosenquist
Located in New York, NY
Silhouetted by the night sky, a brimmed hat perches on its stand, hovering above red-speckled ground like an aircraft. The moon shines bright white, and subtle clouds gather at the h...
Offset
$2,000
H 13 in W 15.25 in D 2 in
James Rosenquist - Art CardThe Early Pictures, Hand Signed by Rosenquist, Framed
By James Rosenquist
Located in New York, NY
Offset lithograph invitation card HAND SIGNED BY JAMES ROSENQUIST in black marker on the front - a collectors item when hand signed by the artist Published on the occasion of the exh...
Lithograph, Offset
$1,800
H 31.5 in W 31.5 in
Tube James Rosenquist Black and white abstract Pop art chrome based on painting
By James Rosenquist
Located in New York, NY
Printed in the same scale as the original James Rosenquist painting, this black and white, abstract pop art composition features a car door collaged over a gleaming, metallic chrome circle. The shining metal and automobile imagery is characteristic of Rosenquist’s work. Bold, minimalist and monochrome, with a hint of yellow and cobalt blue, Tube's circular composition became a recurring motif for Rosenquist. Circles appear in the artist’s prints from the late 60s – he was interested in the “circles of confusion”, or the phenomenon of a camera lens being pointed directly at the sun. Lithograph based on Rosenquist’s 1963 painting...
Lithograph
Swing Screen
By James Rosenquist
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "SWing Screen" 1979 is an original colors etching with aquatint on Pescia Italia paper by renown American artist James Rosenquist, 1933-2017. It is hand signed, d...
Etching, Aquatint
| Sold Date | Sold Price | Category | Medium | Creation Year | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| $1,645 |
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months |
| $550-$2,800 |
| Sold price range of items in the past 12 months |