AMERICAN, b. 1923-1997

During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, Roy Lichtenstein became a leading figure in the new art movement called pop art which defined the premise of art through parody. 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. He described pop art as “not ‘American’ painting but actually industrial painting”.

Lichtenstein’s first solo exhibition was in 1951 at the Carleback Gallery in New York City. This same year, he moved back to Ohio, but frequently traveled to New York. At this point in time, his style of work was fluctuating between Cubism and Expressionism. Also, it was In this period that his sons, David and Mitchell, were born. Shortly after his second son was born, Lichtenstein moved back to upstate New York and took up teaching again. At this point, his work shifted to the Abstract Expressionism style and he also began to hide small, hidden images of cartoon characters, such as Mickey Mouse, into his pieces.

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