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Roy Lichtenstein

American, 1923-1997

Roy Lichtenstein is one of the principal figures of the American Pop art movement, along with Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg and Robert Rauschenberg.

Drawing inspiration from comic strips, Lichtenstein appropriated techniques commercial printing in his paintings, introducing a vernacular sensibility to the visual landscape of contemporary art. He employed visual elements such as the halftone dots that comprise a printed image, and a comic-inspired use of primary colors gave his paintings their signature “Pop” palette.

Born and raised in New York City, Lichtenstein enjoyed Manhattan’s myriad cultural offerings and comic books in equal measure. He began painting seriously as a teenager, studying watercolor painting at the Parsons School of Design in the late 1930s, and later at the Art Students League, where he worked with American realist painter Reginald Marsh. He began his undergraduate education at Ohio State University in 1940, and after a three-year stint in the United States Army during World War II, he completed his bachelor’s degree and then his master’s in fine arts. The roots of Lichtenstein’s interest in the convergence of high art and popular culture are evident even in his early years in Cleveland, where in the late 1940s, he taught at Ohio State, designed window displays for a department store and painted his own pieces.

Working at the height of the Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1950s, Lichtenstein deliberately eschewed the sort of painting that was held in high esteem by the art world and chose instead to explore the visual world of print advertising and comics. This gesture of recontextualizing a lowbrow image by importing it into a fine-art context would become a trademark of Lichtenstein’s artistic style, as well as a vehicle for his critique of the concept of good taste. His 1963 painting Whaam! confronts the viewer with an impact scene from a 1962-era issue of DC Comics’ All American Men of War. Isolated from its larger context, this image combines the playful lettering and brightly colored illustration of the original comic with a darker message about military conflict at the height of the Cold War. Crying Girl from the same year featured another of Lichtenstein’s motifs — a woman in distress, depicted with a mixture of drama and deadpan humor. His work gained a wider audience by creating a comic-inspired mural for the New York State Pavilion of the 1964 World's Fair, he went on to be represented by legendary New York gallerist Leo Castelli for 30 years.

In the 1970s and ’80s, Lichtenstein experimented with abstraction and began exploring basic elements of painting, as in this 1989 work Brushstroke Contest. In addition to paintings in which the brushstroke itself became the central subject, in 1984 he created a large-scale sculpture called Brushstrokes in Flight for the Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. Still Life with Windmill from 1974 and the triptych Cow Going Abstract from 1982 both demonstrate a break from his earlier works where the subjects were derived from existing imagery. Here, Lichtenstein paints subjects more in line with the norms of art history — a pastoral scene and a still life — but he has translated their compositions into his signature graphic style, in which visual elements of printed comics are still a defining feature.

Lichtenstein’s work is represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, and many others. He was awarded National Medal of Arts in 1995, two years before he passed away.

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Roy Lichtenstein, Kiss II Limited Edition Reversible Cotton Blanket/Wall Hanging
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in New York, NY
Roy Lichtenstein Kiss II, Reversible Beach Blanket/Towel, 2013 Cotton Terry LARGE: 59 × 70 × 3/10 inches Limited Edition of 1000 (unnumbered) Brand New ...
Category

2010s Pop Art Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Cotton, Screen, Mixed Media, Textile, Laid Paper

The Red Horsemen (Equestrians) limited edition signed Olympic lithograph w/COA
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in New York, NY
Roy Lichtenstein The Red Horsemen, aka The Equestrians (with COA from the 1984 Olympic Committee), 1982 Limited Edition Lithograph and offset Lithograph on Parsons Diploma Parchment...
Category

1980s Pop Art Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Roy Lichtenstein 'Real Estate' 1969
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in Miami, FL
ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997) This Lichtenstein 'Real Estate' print in blue is a 1969 lithograph on Arches paper. There was an edition of 100 produced (there were also approximately ...
Category

1960s Contemporary Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Lithograph

Roy Lichtenstein "Figures" 1978 (From Surrealist Series) Gemini G.E.L. Printers
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY Title: Figures Portfolio: 1978 Surrealist Medium: Lithograph on Arches 88 paper Edition: 38 Sheet Size: 31 7/16" x 23 1/2" Image Size: 23 1/2" x 15 1/4" Signature: Hand signed in pencil Reference: Corlett 156 Printed by Gemini G.E.L. printers out of Los Angeles. Roy Fox Lichtenstein was an American pop artist. During the 1960s through the 90’s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. His work defined the premise of pop art through parody. Most of Lichtenstein's best-known works are relatively close, but not exact, copies of comic book panels, a subject he largely abandoned in 1965. Lichtenstein's Still Life paintings, sculptures and drawings, which span from 1972 through the early 1980s, cover a variety of motifs and themes, including the most traditional such as fruit, flowers, and vases. Inspired by the comic strip, Lichtenstein produced precise compositions that documented while they parodied, often in a tongue-in cheek manner. His work was influenced by popular advertising and the comic book style. His artwork was considered to be "disruptive". He described pop art as "not 'American' painting but actually industrial painting". His paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City. Wham!, and Drowning Girl Look Mickey proved to be his most influential works. His most expensive piece is Masterpiece which was sold for $165 million in January 2017. Lichtenstein received both his Bachelors and Masters at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio where he taught for ten years. In 1967, he moved back to upstate New York and began teaching again. It was at this time that he adopted the Abstract Expressionist style, being a late convert to this style of painting. Lichtenstein began teaching in upstate New York at the State University of New York at Oswego in 1958. About this time, he began to incorporate hidden images of cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny into is abstract works. In 1960, he started teaching at Rutgers University where he was heavily influenced by Allan Kaprow, who was also a teacher at the university. This environment helped reignite his interest in Proto-pop imagery. In 1961, Lichtenstein began his first pop paintings using cartoon images and techniques derived from the appearance of commercial printing. This phase would continue to 1965, and included the use of advertising imagery suggesting consumerism and homemaking. His first work to feature the large-scale use of hard-edged figures and Ben-Day dots was Look Mickey (1961), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.) This piece came from a challenge from one of his sons, who pointed to a Mickey Mouse comic book and said; "I bet you can't paint as good as that, eh, Dad?" In the same year he produced six other works with recognizable characters from gum wrappers and cartoons. It was at this time that Lichtenstein began to find fame not just in America but worldwide. He moved back to New York to be at the center of the art scene in 1964 to concentrate on his painting. Lichtenstein used oil and Magna (early acrylic) paint in his best known works, such as Drowning Girl (1963), which was appropriated from the lead story in DC Comics’ Secret Hearts No. 83, drawn by Tony Abruzzo. (Drowning Girl now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.) Drowning Girl also features thick outlines, bold colors and Ben-Day dots, as if created by photographic reproduction. Of his own work Lichtenstein would say that the Abstract Expressionists "put things down on the canvas and responded to what they had done, to the color positions and sizes. My style looks completely different, but the nature of putting down lines pretty much is the same; mine just don't come out looking calligraphic, like Pollock’s or Kline’s. Rather than attempt to reproduce his subjects, Lichtenstein's work tackled the way in which the mass media portrays them. He would never take himself too seriously, however, saying: "I think my work is different from comic strips – but I wouldn't call it transformation; I don't think that whatever is meant by it is important to art.” When Lichtenstein's work was first exhibited, many art critics of the time challenged its originality. His work was harshly criticized as vulgar and empty. The title of a Life magazine article in 1964 asked, "Is He the Worst Artist in the U.S.?" Lichtenstein responded to such claims by offering responses such as the following: "The closer my work is to the original, the more threatening and critical the content. However, my work is entirely transformed in that my purpose and perception are entirely different. I think my paintings are critically transformed, but it would be difficult to prove it by any rational line of argument.” In 1969, Lichtenstein was commissioned by Gunter Sachs to create Composition and Leda and the Swan, for the collector's Pop Art bedroom suite at the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz. In the late 1970s and during the 1980s, Lichtenstein received major commissions for works in public places: the sculptures Lamp (1978) in St. Mary's, Georgia; Mermaid (1979) in Miami Beach; the 26 feet tall Brushstrokes in Flight (1984, moved in 1998) at John Glenn Columbus International Airport; the five-storey high Mural with Blue Brushstroke (1984–85) at the Equitable Center, New York and El Cap de Barcelona (1992) in Barcelona. In 1994, Lichtenstein created the 53-foot-long, enamel-on-metal Times Square Mural in Times Square subway station. In 1977, he was commissioned by BMW to paint a Group 5 Racing Version of the BMW 320i for the third installment in the BMW Art Car Project. The DreamWorks Records logo was his last completed project. "I'm not in the business of doing anything like that (a corporate logo) and don't intend to do it again," allows Lichtenstein. "But I know Mo Ostin and David Geffen and it seemed interesting. In 1996 the The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. became the largest single repository of the artist's work when Lichtenstein donated 154 prints and 2 books. The Art Institute of Chicago has several important works by Lichtenstein in its permanent collection, including Brushstroke with Spatter (1966) and Mirror No. 3 (Six Panels) (1971). The personal holdings of Lichtenstein's widow, Dorothy Lichtenstein, and of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation number in the hundreds. In Europe, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne has one of the most comprehensive Lichtenstein holdings with Takka Takka (1962), Nurse (1964), Compositions I (1964), besides the Frankfurt Museum fur Modern Kunst with We Rose Up slowly (1964), and Yellow and Green Brushstrokes...
Category

1970s Pop Art Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Lithograph

Water Lily
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in Bristol, GB
Screenprint on Lana Royale paper Edition of 130 Image size: 31.7 x 43.3 cm Signed, numbered, dated and blindstamped on the front, stamped by the publisher on the back with workshop n...
Category

1990s Contemporary Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Screen

Blue Face from the Brushstroke Figures Series
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in Miami, FL
Lithograph, waxtype woodcut and screenprint on 638-g/m cold-pressed Saunders Waterford Paper. From the "Brushstroke Figures" series, 1989. Hand signed rf Lichtenstein, dated ('89) a...
Category

1980s Contemporary Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Lithograph, Screen, Woodcut

The Oval Office limited edition political button for Clinton-Gore
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in New York, NY
ROY LICHTENSTEIN Clinton Gore (Limited Edition Campaign Button), 1992 Mixed Media Screenprint on political button (Plate Signed Roy Lichtenstein) 1 3/4 × 2 3/4 x 0.3 inches Limited...
Category

1990s Pop Art Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Metal

Fish and Sky - American Pop Art
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in London, GB
This work is hand signed in pencil "R. Lichtenstein" at the lower right margin on the mount board. It is also signed, verso. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 20...
Category

1960s Pop Art Roy Lichtenstein

Materials

Lithograph, Screen

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Find a wide variety of authentic Roy Lichtenstein art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange, yellow, blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Roy Lichtenstein in screen print, lithograph, offset print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Pop Art style. Not every interior allows for large Roy Lichtenstein art, so small editions measuring 3 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of James Rosenquist, Jim Dine, and Ed Ruscha. Roy Lichtenstein art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $250 and tops out at $1,500,000, while the average work can sell for $20,500.
Questions About Roy Lichtenstein
  • large oils are worth many millions of dollars. The value would depend on the size, composition and importance of the piece.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 22, 2021
    No, Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein is not alive. He died at the age of 73 in 1997. You can find Roy Lichtenstein's art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein is an American artist who helped to shape the Pop art movement. He was born on October 27, 1923 in New York City, and he died there on September 29, 1997. Some of his most famous works include Whaam!, Drowning Girl and two different pieces titled Crying Girl. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein is from New York City, New York. He was born in Manhattan on October 27, 1923, and he died in the city on September 29, 1997. Lichtenstein attended Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. On 1stDibs, find a range of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    To authenticate Roy Lichtenstein art, consult the help of a licensed art appraiser with experience identifying Pop art. Due to the number of high quality giclée prints available, it is very difficult to verify that an artwork is real and not a reproduction. Shop a collection of expertly vetted Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Advertising and comic books inspired Roy Lichtenstein to create art. In fact, many of his pieces appropriated images from these sources, transforming them into commentaries on geopolitics and social issues. On 1stDibs, you can shop a collection of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein was famous for his remarkable work in pop art, perhaps most notably, his comic book-style paintings. His work is renowned for its sense of parody. Shop a collection of Roy Lichtenstein pieces and prints from top sellers around the world on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein was important to the art world because he helped pioneer Pop art. This movement focused on incorporating images from pop culture and mass media into fine art. His work continues to influence contemporary artists like Richard Bell and Grégoire Guillemin to this day. Shop a collection of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    To pronounce Roy Lichtenstein, say, "Roy LICK-ton-stine." The artist's last name is of German origin. He was a leader of the Pop art movement who lived from 1923 to 1997. On 1stDibs, you can shop a variety of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein influenced a number of contemporary artists, including Richard Bell, Grégoire Guillemin and Douglas Coupland. During his lifetime, he also inspired other Pop art artists like Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist and Claes Oldenburg. Shop a variety of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2024
    Roy Lichtenstein made his art by using comic books and advertisements as sources. He took images from pop culture and then painted them using Magna acrylic paints that had a flat finish that mimicked the look of printing inks. The Pop artist worked mostly in primary colors and employed thick lines and Ben-Day dots to give his work a cartoon-like quality. Shop a selection of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein studied art at Ohio State University. He received both Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degrees from the university. For 10 years, he worked as an instructor at the institution. Find a range of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yes, Roy Lichtenstein did indeed use appropriation in his art. In this case, ‘appropriation’ in art is the use of existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. One of Lichtenstein’s most famous pieces is ‘Look Mickey’ featuring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Shop a selection of Roy Lichtenstein’s pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertJune 6, 2024
    Roy Lichtenstein's art style was Pop art. In fact, he is one of the principal figures of the American Pop art movement, along with Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg and Robert Rauschenberg. Drawing inspiration from comic strips, Lichtenstein appropriated techniques of commercial printing in his paintings, introducing a vernacular sensibility to contemporary art. He employed visual elements such as the halftone dots that comprise a printed image and a comic-inspired use of primary colors to give his paintings their signature "Pop" palette. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein has a large number of famous paintings. The most famous include Whaam!, Drowning Girl, Look Mickey, M-Maybe, In the Car, Masterpiece, Crak!, and two separate works titled Crying Girl. You'll find a selection of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein used patterns of dots to give his Pop art paintings the look of mass-printed graphics. To create this effect, he placed a stencil covered with perforated dots and brushed paint over the back. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 25, 2024
    Roy Lichtenstein's most popular piece of art is a matter of opinion. One contender for the title is his 1963 diptych painting Whaam!, which has a scene of a fighter plane hitting another plane with a rocket from a 1962 issue of DC Comics’s series All American Men of War. Another of his well-known works is Crying Girl from the same year. It features a woman in distress, depicted with a mixture of drama and deadpan humor. Other famous works by Lichtenstein include Drowning Girl, Look Mickey, M-Maybe, In the Car and Masterpiece. Find a collection of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein created many paintings before he died in 1997. Historians estimate that he made more than 5,000 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and other pieces. Some of his most well-known works include Crying Girl, Drowning Girl and Whaam! Shop a range of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein mainly used red, blue, yellow and green in his work. Lichtenstein chose these colors because they are the primary ones used in printing, and he patterned his pieces after advertisements and comic books. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    No, Roy Lichtenstein did not paint Wonder Woman. However, other artists depicted the character in his style. Lichtenstein did use comic books for inspiration. For example, the 1962 issue of “All-American Men of War” from DC Comics was the source for his painting Whaam! Find a collection of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein started producing Pop art in the 1950s. His work drew inspiration from advertisements and comic books. In the 1960s, his work became widely known, and today, historians credit him with greatly influencing the Pop art movement. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Roy Lichtenstein art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Roy Lichtenstein was a part of the Pop art movement. He and other pop artists like Andy Warhol and James Rosenquist elevated images from pop culture and mass media into fine art as a way of commenting on geopolitical and social issues. You'll find a variety of Roy Lichtenstein art on 1stDibs.

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