Sunrise

Sunset

A 30-second online art project:

Peter Burr, Sunshine Monument

Learn more

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

Skip to main content

Roy Lichtenstein
1923–1997

Introduction

Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, 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. 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.

Whaam!, Drowning Girl, and Look Mickey proved to be his most influential works. His most expensive piece is Masterpiece, which was sold for $165 million in 2017.

Wikidata identifier

Q151679

View the full Wikipedia entry

Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed March 17, 2024.

Introduction

Roy Lichtenstein attended classes at the Parsons School of Design and Art Students League before enrolling in the Fine Arts program at Ohio State in 1940. He was drafted into the United States Army, but was discharged and returned to Ohio in 1946 to finish his master's degree. In 1957 he accepted a teaching position at the State University of New York in Oswego, all the while pursuing his art career and gradually shifting his focus towards Expressionism. He began teaching at Rutgers University in 1960, and by 1961, he had created his first paintings of cartoon and comic strip icons with his trademark use of Benday dots. By 1964, Lichtenstein was one of Pop art's most recognized, yet controversial, artists.

Country of birth

United States

Roles

Artist, cinematographer, decorative artist, decorative painter, designer, graphic artist, jewelry designer, painter, sculptor

ULAN identifier

500013596

Names

Roy Lichtenstein, Roy Fox Lichtenstein

View the full Getty record

Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed March 17, 2024.





Have feedback about the Whitney's online collection? Send us a message.