Roy Lichtenstein
October 26, 2011
Mirror Series, Mirror #5
, 1972
Lithography
Printer: George Page • Publisher: Gemini G.E.L.
Gift: Steinmetz Family, 2001
Painter and sculptor Roy Lichtenstein stands as a central figure of the Pop Art Movement. Born in New York City in 1923, Lichtenstein had a passion for comic books as a child.
In his teens he became interested in art and began taking courses. He was drafted into WWII when he was a student at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, but after the war, Lichtenstein returned to school and completed both his bachelors and masters in fine arts.
In the early 1960’s, Lichtenstein began looking to comic books and commercialized printing for inspiration. He began using a stencil to create his artwork, imitating the impersonal method of mechanical printing. The patterns of dots used throughout his pieces were influenced and fashioned after the Ben Day dots used in newspaper printing. Over time, this style would become synonymous with Lichtenstein himself. After mastering his personal technique, Lichtenstein began copying works by famous artists in his own style: paintings by Cezanne and Monet were recreated using a gradation of colored circles on canvas.
In the late 1960’s, Lichtenstein became influenced by different artistic movements and his style changed to become more abstract—this style is evident in the works included in the Permanent Collection at Chapman University.
Mirror #5
, from the artist’s Mirror Series, questions whether or not the function of representational art was to reflect reality. The other work by Roy Lichtenstein in Escalette Collection is The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Poster from 1969: it was created to advertise an exhibit of his work at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Poster
, 1969
Serigraph
Published by the artist and Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Gift: Guggenheim Trust, 2001
