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.
Find a collection of Roy Lichtenstein prints, drawings and more on 1stDibs.
Indian with Pipe
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in New York, NY
This exceptional oil on canvas by master Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein is an exceptional and unique example of his early pre-pop work. It is signed by the artist, upper right. After m...
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
The Diver
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in Long Island City, NY
This is an important early painting by Lichtenstein. It will be included in forthcoming Catalogue Raisonne by the Lichtenstein Association. Artist: Roy Lic...
Oil
$21,640
H 21.26 in W 28.75 in D 0.79 in
Lively Paris street. 1973. Oil on canvas. 54 x 73cm
By Hiro Yamagata
Located in Riga, LV
Lively Paris street. 1973. Oil on canvas. 54 x 73cm Hiro Yamagata was born near Kyoto, Japan, went to Paris to study art, and considers himself an American artist. In his Los Angeles studio, Yamagata paints minutely detailed scenes of Paris streets, cafes and parks. He captures the essence of the naif style by presenting life in simple terms, and the world in the happiest light. His creative synthesis of photorealist and neo-folk techniques has won countless admirers and collectors. Yamagata's vision is unequivocally cheerful and his imagery is endlessly inventive. He works from a palette of over 100 shades of acrylic paints, and renders in exacting detail with brushes with as small as two hairs. Serigraphs of some of Yamagata's most popular paintings...
Oil, Canvas
$3,950
H 20 in W 18 in D 2 in
"Georgia Moonshiner, c. 1935" by Athos Menaboni (1895-1990) American WPA Era Oil
Located in Yardley, PA
A fantastic WPA-era painting of a Georgia moonshiner by famed Italian-American artist Athos Menaboni (1895-1990). This work depicts an older man sporting a brown hat, brown jacket, ...
Masonite, Oil
Turned
By Lisa Taliano
Located in Dallas, TX
oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
$4,500
H 59 in W 33.5 in
"Juliet" Abstract Figurative Oil Painting 59 x 33.5" in by Anastasiia Danilenko
By Anastasiia Danilenko
Located in Culver City, CA
"Juliet" Abstract Figurative Oil Painting 59 x 33.5" in by Anastasiia Danilenko Ships rolled in a tube Anastasiia Danilenko is an artist and graphic designer. But the area of he...
Canvas, Oil
Brainiac VII Abstract
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Large-scale abstract with multi-colored brains layered on a neutral background by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of h...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$3,320
H 40 in W 29.5 in
Huge French Contemporary Modernist Abstract Oil Painting Blue Girl in Deckchair
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Abstract Composition of A Girl Lying On A Deck Chair by Jacqueline VERDET (French, 1931-2023) signed oil painting on canvas, in wooden frame with the bottom part of frame missing siz...
Canvas, Oil
$6,500
H 32 in W 32 in D 2.75 in
"The Champ, 1942" Joe Louis "Brown Bomber" Boxer Portrait Ex-Museum Oil Signed
Located in Yardley, PA
“The Champ, 1942” by Theodore Fried (1902-1980) This important portrait by Hungarian-American artist Theodore Fried depicts the legendary boxer Joe Louis aka “The Brown Bomber” and ...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$1,730
H 33.08 in W 46.86 in D 0.2 in
Painting, Modern, Abstract, Colorful, Contemporary, Invest, Artwork, Original
By Karnish Art
Located in Pretoria, Gauteng
Title: The Guardians of Togetherness Painting, Modern, Abstract, Colorful, Contemporary, Invest, Artwork, Original The Guardians of Togetherness opens up the viewer to experience t...
Gesso, Canvas, Glaze, Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Color Pencil, Wood, Str...
$12,000
H 33.38 in W 28.38 in D 2.5 in
“The Big City, 1948” Grand Central Station NYC Manhattan Female WPA Modernist
Located in Yardley, PA
“The Big City, 1948” by Anna Elkan Meltzer (American, 1896-1974) One of Meltzer’s finest works, this painting encapsulates the organized chaos of Grand Central Terminal in NYC in th...
Oil, Canvas
$6,500
H 21.88 in W 17.38 in D 2 in
On the Beach. Woman Reading. Mid-Century Chicago Modernist Oil Painting.
Located in Marco Island, FL
Chicago Modernist, William Schwartz, painted this intimate painting of a woman reading titled On the Beach. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago shortly after emigrating to th...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$4,289
H 19.1 in W 27.17 in
'The Dolomites at Santa Cristina' oil on board by Carlo Pollonera
Located in London, GB
Carlo Pollonera (1849-1923) 'Dolomites at Santa Cristina' Oil on cardboard 48.5 x 69 cm Signed and dated lower left 1921 1920's landscape painting of the Dolomite Mountains in It...
Oil, Board
$1,082
H 23.63 in W 28.75 in
Impressionist Mediterranean Harbor Painting Port de la Selva Costa Brava Fishing
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Impressionist Mediterranean Harbor Painting Port de la Selva Costa Brava Fishing Boats Oil Canvas Artist: Lazarotti Title: Port de la Selva Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 60 × 73 cm (23.6 × 28.7 in) Signature: Signed lower right Inscription: Titled on reverse Frame: Unframed Condition: Very good condition. Stable paint surface with original impasto visible Origin: Spain Atmospheric Mediterranean harbor scene depicting Port de la Selva on the Costa Brava, one of the most picturesque fishing villages in northeastern Spain near Cap de Creus. The composition presents a lively shoreline animated by traditional fishing boats resting along the beach and floating gently across reflective harbor waters. Whitewashed architecture rises against the mountainous backdrop, creating a luminous contrast with the turquoise sea and expansive sky. Executed with confident impressionist brushwork, the painting captures shifting reflections and coastal light through layered strokes of blue, rose, ochre and soft green tonal transitions. The surface retains visible impasto that enhances depth and movement across the water. Mediterranean harbor paintings of this type are especially sought after for their decorative clarity, collector accessibility and strong interior presence, particularly within coastal and modern European painting collections. The inscription “Port de la Selva” on the reverse confirms the exact Catalan location represented. This work belongs to the Mediterranean impressionist...
Oil
Indian
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in New York, NY
This oil on canvas by master Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein is an exceptional and unique example of his early work. It is signed and dated in oil, lower left recto. After moving to Cl...
Canvas, Oil
