Armed with his trademark Ben-day dots, Roy Lichtenstein rose abruptly to fame as one of the preeminent artists of the pop-art era with his striking depictions of comic-strip panels in the 1960s. From 1961 through 1965 Lichtenstein created adaptations and re-compositions of cartoons and comic book strips. "I'm interested in portraying a sort of anti-sensibility that pervades society," explained the artist. Indeed, his paintings encapsulate clichéd emotions in large scale underscoring elements of triviality and disconnectedness in modern life. … (read more)

Armed with his trademark Ben-day dots, Roy Lichtenstein rose abruptly to fame as one of the preeminent artists of the pop-art era with his striking depictions of comic-strip panels in the 1960s. From 1961 through 1965 Lichtenstein created adaptations and re-compositions of cartoons and comic book strips. "I'm interested in portraying a sort of anti-sensibility that pervades society," explained the artist. Indeed, his paintings encapsulate clichéd emotions in large scale underscoring elements of triviality and disconnectedness in modern life.

Growing up in New York City Lichtenstein enjoyed a childhood self-described as quiet and uneventful. He moved to Ohio State School of Fine Arts in pursuit of an undergraduate degree; his career there was punctuated by the draft, which called him to Europe. In the 1950s Lichtenstein’s work explored themes of Americana and abstract expressionism, much of it created from found objects. His most well-known work that buoyed his career emerged from his young son’s challenge, “I bet you can't paint as good as that,” as he pointed to a Mickey Mouse comic book. Thus, Lichtenstein was moved to produce his first collection of comic- strip inspired paintings, modified in bold colors in Ben-day dots, emblazoned with the familiar, iconic speech bubbles of comic book lore.

In the early 1980s Lichtenstein’s work gravitated toward the creation of sculptural, 3-dimensional scale models of German Expressionist woodcuts, and through late 1980’s and the 1990’s, he made a collection of public sculptures and murals. In 1996, Lichtenstein donated 154 prints and two books to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, which now stands as the largest repository of his work. The artist died of Pneumonia in 1997.

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