Lichtenstein after 1965
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Lichtenstein Music and dance
Chronology : 1977 1983 1990-1999 1994 1995 1996
See also : Lichtenstein Music and dance
Chronology : 1977 1983 1990-1999 1994 1995 1996
1969 Rouen Cathedral
2023 SOLD for $ 15.4M by Christie's
Roy Lichtenstein had a keen interest in the deep roots of the artistic language, as evidenced with his Brushstroke series of 1965. Comic art is not a major graphic art. From 1963 he reappropriates Picasso.
He could not miss the similarities between Seurat's pointillism and his own fastidious Ben Day dot simulation applying hand painting through metal stencils. Monet's Cathédrales de Rouen of the 1890s is an early series of sets using a same viewpoint with the various colors of the day from dawn to twilight, with slight differences in details from one opus to another.
Roy reappropriates the Rouen Cathedrals in five sets of respectively 3, 3, 5, 3 and 3 pictures. The set IV, made of three conjoined oil and acrylic on canvas 160 x 107 cm each in various red dominances, was sold for $ 15.4M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 8A.
He could not miss the similarities between Seurat's pointillism and his own fastidious Ben Day dot simulation applying hand painting through metal stencils. Monet's Cathédrales de Rouen of the 1890s is an early series of sets using a same viewpoint with the various colors of the day from dawn to twilight, with slight differences in details from one opus to another.
Roy reappropriates the Rouen Cathedrals in five sets of respectively 3, 3, 5, 3 and 3 pictures. The set IV, made of three conjoined oil and acrylic on canvas 160 x 107 cm each in various red dominances, was sold for $ 15.4M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 8A.
masterpiece
1974 Cow going abstract
private collection
1977 Female Head
2017 SOLD for $ 24.5M by Sotheby's
Roy Lichtenstein creates a new conception of the image with his narrative themes inspired by comics, his text bubbles, his flat areas with sharp outlines and his printing dots. He explores the root nature of imagery by elevating to the rank of major art the disproportionately enlarged picture of a brushstroke or later by observing the abstract metamorphosis of a cow.
Early in his career Roy observes the freedom of composition brought by Picasso with his juxtapositions of perspectives and his effects of mirrors. Imitating a portrait of Dora Maar, Woman with Flowered Hat painted in 1963 was sold for $ 56M by Christie's on May 15, 2013.
Female Head, oil and acrylic on canvas 152 x 127 cm painted in 1977, was sold for $ 24.5M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2017, lot 29.
Roy interprets Picasso's signature double perspective with his naturalist style without reversing the binocular vision : the right nostril appears on the left. The face is truncated in an outline close to an oval as in an impossible mirror that does not appear. Roy does not forget the profile but processes it in a surrealist manner by the line of the blond hair on the left. This artwork thus becomes the triple head of a unique woman amalgamated in a single figure.
Roy's series of beach scenes conceived in 1976 is another direct reference to the art of the late master, here referring to the 1928 summertime in Dinard mingling innocence and forbidden love. Girl with Beach Ball II, painted in 1977, was sold for $ 14M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 3.
Early in his career Roy observes the freedom of composition brought by Picasso with his juxtapositions of perspectives and his effects of mirrors. Imitating a portrait of Dora Maar, Woman with Flowered Hat painted in 1963 was sold for $ 56M by Christie's on May 15, 2013.
Female Head, oil and acrylic on canvas 152 x 127 cm painted in 1977, was sold for $ 24.5M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2017, lot 29.
Roy interprets Picasso's signature double perspective with his naturalist style without reversing the binocular vision : the right nostril appears on the left. The face is truncated in an outline close to an oval as in an impossible mirror that does not appear. Roy does not forget the profile but processes it in a surrealist manner by the line of the blond hair on the left. This artwork thus becomes the triple head of a unique woman amalgamated in a single figure.
Roy's series of beach scenes conceived in 1976 is another direct reference to the art of the late master, here referring to the 1928 summertime in Dinard mingling innocence and forbidden love. Girl with Beach Ball II, painted in 1977, was sold for $ 14M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 3.
1983 Two Paintings: Craig ...
2021 SOLD for $ 20.4M by Sotheby's
In the art of Roy Lichtenstein, the young men may have names, whether they are in or out of the picture.
On a 1962 example, the woman states that her Brad darling has made a masterpiece. The man agrees silently with that acknowledgment of his genius. A corner of the frame of the discussed painting is visible on the left without information on what the artwork is displaying.
That 1962 'Masterpiece' was privately sold for $ 165M in 2017. It is an early example of Lichtenstein's lifelong desire to find the deep meaning of art, exemplified in 1965 by his unprecedented theme of the Brushstrokes.
Two years later, the man is Craig, out of the field but referred by the blonde girl in a loving bubble with no reference to art.
The limited frame corner reappears as the stand alone theme of two paintings in 1982. The represented picture is now an uninterpretable abstraction.
The Ben-Day dotted Craig blonde is facing the framed abstraction corner in 1983. Her bubble is trimmed in the upper left corner and the artwork is titled Two Paintings : Craig ... This oil and acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm was sold for $ 20.4M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 115.
On a 1962 example, the woman states that her Brad darling has made a masterpiece. The man agrees silently with that acknowledgment of his genius. A corner of the frame of the discussed painting is visible on the left without information on what the artwork is displaying.
That 1962 'Masterpiece' was privately sold for $ 165M in 2017. It is an early example of Lichtenstein's lifelong desire to find the deep meaning of art, exemplified in 1965 by his unprecedented theme of the Brushstrokes.
Two years later, the man is Craig, out of the field but referred by the blonde girl in a loving bubble with no reference to art.
The limited frame corner reappears as the stand alone theme of two paintings in 1982. The represented picture is now an uninterpretable abstraction.
The Ben-Day dotted Craig blonde is facing the framed abstraction corner in 1983. Her bubble is trimmed in the upper left corner and the artwork is titled Two Paintings : Craig ... This oil and acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm was sold for $ 20.4M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 115.
1994 Interior : Perfect Pitcher
2016 SOLD for $ 22.7M by Christie's
Roy Lichtenstein used throughout his career to mingle his own themes. His Interiors series, conceived around 1990, enables unprecedented associations.
The basic inspiration is certainly Matisse's L'Atelier Rouge of 1911 displaying all sorts of pictures hanging on the red wall. Lichtenstein adds his own confusion between the direct viewing and the reflection in a mirror. His insertion of artworks in the images enables many references to art history including his favorite artists Picasso and Matisse but also Monet, Calder, Warhol or himself.
Interior with Yves Klein sculpture, oil and acrylic on canvas 305 x 430 cm painted in 1991, was sold for $ 6.7M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 12 B. The sculpture is an IKB sponge. An image on the wall is the portrait of King Henry VIII by Holbein. An antique marble of the Discobolus is totally out of the field excepted the foot plus a hand holding half of the disk.
In 1994 the nude woman is an unprecedented theme in Roy's art. An Interior opus, subtitled Perfect Pitcher, mingles both. This oil and acrylic on canvas 306 x 490 cm was sold for $ 22.7M by Christie's on May 13, 2021, lot 18 B.
In the cozy dressing room furnished with a sectional sofa and two low tables, four pictures are hanging on the walls, in addition to the edge of a tall mirror in the foreground.
The subtitle refers to the image of two pitchers. One of them is the direct copy of a real life artefact placed on a low table and thus cannot be a reflection, and the other is an image within that image within the artwork. It is both a direct reference to Picasso's still lifes and a pun for Perfect Picture. An arrangement of geometric vessels in the taste of Picasso or Morandi hangs beside it. The left wall displays an image of musical notes on waving staves, a feature previously used by Roy in 1974 in a pastiche of Matisse's La Danse.
The fourth illustration is a red haired life size woman seated in an aggressive enticing position. She is not in an extension of the room because her scene has a mirror frame, but it cannot be a mirror because no element from the room is reflected. She is indeed copied from a comic book of the 1960s with the usual Ben-Day dots of the artist.
Nude with joyous painting, also including the musical score, is in the direct follow. This painting 178 x 135 cm was sold for $ 46M by Christie's in 2020.
The basic inspiration is certainly Matisse's L'Atelier Rouge of 1911 displaying all sorts of pictures hanging on the red wall. Lichtenstein adds his own confusion between the direct viewing and the reflection in a mirror. His insertion of artworks in the images enables many references to art history including his favorite artists Picasso and Matisse but also Monet, Calder, Warhol or himself.
Interior with Yves Klein sculpture, oil and acrylic on canvas 305 x 430 cm painted in 1991, was sold for $ 6.7M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 12 B. The sculpture is an IKB sponge. An image on the wall is the portrait of King Henry VIII by Holbein. An antique marble of the Discobolus is totally out of the field excepted the foot plus a hand holding half of the disk.
In 1994 the nude woman is an unprecedented theme in Roy's art. An Interior opus, subtitled Perfect Pitcher, mingles both. This oil and acrylic on canvas 306 x 490 cm was sold for $ 22.7M by Christie's on May 13, 2021, lot 18 B.
In the cozy dressing room furnished with a sectional sofa and two low tables, four pictures are hanging on the walls, in addition to the edge of a tall mirror in the foreground.
The subtitle refers to the image of two pitchers. One of them is the direct copy of a real life artefact placed on a low table and thus cannot be a reflection, and the other is an image within that image within the artwork. It is both a direct reference to Picasso's still lifes and a pun for Perfect Picture. An arrangement of geometric vessels in the taste of Picasso or Morandi hangs beside it. The left wall displays an image of musical notes on waving staves, a feature previously used by Roy in 1974 in a pastiche of Matisse's La Danse.
The fourth illustration is a red haired life size woman seated in an aggressive enticing position. She is not in an extension of the room because her scene has a mirror frame, but it cannot be a mirror because no element from the room is reflected. She is indeed copied from a comic book of the 1960s with the usual Ben-Day dots of the artist.
Nude with joyous painting, also including the musical score, is in the direct follow. This painting 178 x 135 cm was sold for $ 46M by Christie's in 2020.
1994 Nude with Joyous Painting
2020 SOLD for $ 46M by Christie's
Roy Lichtenstein appropriates images edited or painted by others. By transforming them, he brings another meaning that can be the opposite. The enlargement from a comic maintains the simplicity of the lines which was important for the legibility of the tiny original. He reaches the basics of art, without verbiage and without losing his humor.
Roy also offers his vision of art history. He likes the pure lines of the naked bodies in La Danse by Matisse. Painted in 1974, Artist's Studio - The Dance exhibits that masterpiece of the other artist on the back wall, behind a big mess. On the right side, a truncated image shows some musical notes on a stave.
In 1994 Roy restarts one of his signature themes : the young woman copied from a comic panel, colored with dots that mimic printing patterns. Henceforth the woman is nude, sometimes in the presence of another naked woman, never with a man.
Nude with Joyous Painting, oil and acrylic 178 x 135 cm painted in 1994 was sold for $ 46M from an estimate in the region of $ 30M by Christie's on July 10, 2020, lot 58. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In the comic book, the pretty blonde had a love sorrow. Now she is naked and the explanatory text is no longer available : she is simply waiting for something undefined which is probably not a partner. She may be finishing her washing after putting a headband.
The joyous painting announced by the title is the image of a musical stave in volutes, as in the pastiche of La Danse. This musical symbol brings a nice atmosphere of innocent intimacy.
Roy also offers his vision of art history. He likes the pure lines of the naked bodies in La Danse by Matisse. Painted in 1974, Artist's Studio - The Dance exhibits that masterpiece of the other artist on the back wall, behind a big mess. On the right side, a truncated image shows some musical notes on a stave.
In 1994 Roy restarts one of his signature themes : the young woman copied from a comic panel, colored with dots that mimic printing patterns. Henceforth the woman is nude, sometimes in the presence of another naked woman, never with a man.
Nude with Joyous Painting, oil and acrylic 178 x 135 cm painted in 1994 was sold for $ 46M from an estimate in the region of $ 30M by Christie's on July 10, 2020, lot 58. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In the comic book, the pretty blonde had a love sorrow. Now she is naked and the explanatory text is no longer available : she is simply waiting for something undefined which is probably not a partner. She may be finishing her washing after putting a headband.
The joyous painting announced by the title is the image of a musical stave in volutes, as in the pastiche of La Danse. This musical symbol brings a nice atmosphere of innocent intimacy.
1994 Nude with Yellow Flower
2013 SOLD for $ 23.6M by Christie's
The world has changed in the three previous decades, in 1993, when Roy Lichtenstein focuses on the female nude. This new series of paintings, which unfortunately will be his last, is actually a remarkable synthesis of his career.
The guess by the observer of some relationship between the artist and the model is one of the strongest features in Roy's art. If the woman does not appear to be disturbed in her privacy, It is really a paradox because otherwise how would the artist be able to see her?
Roy had also interpreted the excessive comfort of bourgeois homes. It is logical and ironic that he got the idea to make them enlived by a naked woman.
These canvases of great size, larger than life, are using the technique of the artist with solid and dotted areas. The colors are unimportant on the condition of being bright, only the blond head is realistic.
The drawing is neat, without falling into the provocative eroticism of Wesselmann. Roy relies on previous images of his art improved by removing clothes and modernizing accessories.
The woman with the yellow flower is standing alone, concentrating on her phone call. Does the person on the other end of the line appreciate that she is nude? The heart of the flower is like a question mark. This canvas painted in 1994, 233 x 183 cm, was sold for $ 23.6M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Christie's on May 15, 2013, lot 49.
The guess by the observer of some relationship between the artist and the model is one of the strongest features in Roy's art. If the woman does not appear to be disturbed in her privacy, It is really a paradox because otherwise how would the artist be able to see her?
Roy had also interpreted the excessive comfort of bourgeois homes. It is logical and ironic that he got the idea to make them enlived by a naked woman.
These canvases of great size, larger than life, are using the technique of the artist with solid and dotted areas. The colors are unimportant on the condition of being bright, only the blond head is realistic.
The drawing is neat, without falling into the provocative eroticism of Wesselmann. Roy relies on previous images of his art improved by removing clothes and modernizing accessories.
The woman with the yellow flower is standing alone, concentrating on her phone call. Does the person on the other end of the line appreciate that she is nude? The heart of the flower is like a question mark. This canvas painted in 1994, 233 x 183 cm, was sold for $ 23.6M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Christie's on May 15, 2013, lot 49.
1994 Nudes in Mirror
2016 SOLD for $ 21.5M by Phillips
In the early 1960s women find another role to their own bodies. Partially or fully unveiled, it is no more only a call to the sexual partner but a symbol of a new freedom.
In this first phase of his career, Roy Lichtenstein shakes the traditional iconography but does not pay attention to the nude. Three decades later he retrieves his collection of magazines whose sentimental scenes had once served as his models. He now strips these young women in the intimate atmosphere of their modern apartment.
In his rich artistic vocabulary Roy loves to explore the theme of reflection that had inspired Velazquez and Manet before him. Nudes in Mirror, oil and acrylic on canvas 254 x 213 cm painted in 1994, offers troubling angles without indeed needing an erotic attitude.
The mirror occupies the entire field of the canvas and lets see the reflection of the blonde woman to the waist, much larger than life. The artist was an intruder because he occupied the physical position of that woman facing the mirror in the nude. For the same reason the viewer loses his own identity. A wide diagonal bar and a secondary image that may be from the same woman bring an impossible geometry worthy of Escher.
An artist is successful when his work arouses passions. In 2005 Nudes in Mirror was slashed in four large cuts from a screwdriver during an exhibition in Austria. The canvas has been repaired. It was sold for $ 21.5M by Phillips on November 16, 2016, lot 15.
In this first phase of his career, Roy Lichtenstein shakes the traditional iconography but does not pay attention to the nude. Three decades later he retrieves his collection of magazines whose sentimental scenes had once served as his models. He now strips these young women in the intimate atmosphere of their modern apartment.
In his rich artistic vocabulary Roy loves to explore the theme of reflection that had inspired Velazquez and Manet before him. Nudes in Mirror, oil and acrylic on canvas 254 x 213 cm painted in 1994, offers troubling angles without indeed needing an erotic attitude.
The mirror occupies the entire field of the canvas and lets see the reflection of the blonde woman to the waist, much larger than life. The artist was an intruder because he occupied the physical position of that woman facing the mirror in the nude. For the same reason the viewer loses his own identity. A wide diagonal bar and a secondary image that may be from the same woman bring an impossible geometry worthy of Escher.
An artist is successful when his work arouses passions. In 2005 Nudes in Mirror was slashed in four large cuts from a screwdriver during an exhibition in Austria. The canvas has been repaired. It was sold for $ 21.5M by Phillips on November 16, 2016, lot 15.
1995 Nude with Red Shirt
2012 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
In 1993 Roy Lichtenstein reinterpreted the comics that had made his glory thirty years earlier. The evolution of manners and the new freedom acquired and claimed by young women allow him to strip them to the nude.
In the first works in the series, exhibited by Castelli in November 1994, the aesthetics of voluptuous curves often take precedence over narration. Amorous thoughts already appear in some scenes.
In the Nude with Yellow Flower, sold for $ 23.6M by Christie's on May 15, 2013, the young woman phones while preparing a flower for her interlocutor. In the 1960s comics she wore a swimsuit.
Nude with Red Shirt, oil and acrylic on canvas 198 x 168 cm painted in 1995, was sold for $ 28M by Christie's on November 14, 2012, lot 39.
In her bedroom, the young blonde slips her shirt over her shoulders. The viewer's attention is focused on the bare skin. In the original image, she wore underpants. The narrative figures are only seen at second reading.
The left edge of the image is broken by the hair of a woman. What is she doing ? Roy does not give his solution but in the original comic book she was the sister. The framed portrait of a young man on the nightstand leads to conclude that the main character is heterosexual.
In the following year the women are more overtly exciting. A Seductive Girl was sold for $ 31.5M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
In the first works in the series, exhibited by Castelli in November 1994, the aesthetics of voluptuous curves often take precedence over narration. Amorous thoughts already appear in some scenes.
In the Nude with Yellow Flower, sold for $ 23.6M by Christie's on May 15, 2013, the young woman phones while preparing a flower for her interlocutor. In the 1960s comics she wore a swimsuit.
Nude with Red Shirt, oil and acrylic on canvas 198 x 168 cm painted in 1995, was sold for $ 28M by Christie's on November 14, 2012, lot 39.
In her bedroom, the young blonde slips her shirt over her shoulders. The viewer's attention is focused on the bare skin. In the original image, she wore underpants. The narrative figures are only seen at second reading.
The left edge of the image is broken by the hair of a woman. What is she doing ? Roy does not give his solution but in the original comic book she was the sister. The framed portrait of a young man on the nightstand leads to conclude that the main character is heterosexual.
In the following year the women are more overtly exciting. A Seductive Girl was sold for $ 31.5M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
1995 Nude Sunbathing
2017 SOLD for $ 24M by Sotheby's
An often iconoclastic theorist in many genres of painting, Roy Lichtenstein appreciates when turning 70 years old that the viewer wants nude women. He observes: "If you draw three lines that look like a nude, people see a nude".
To join this everlasting theme of art, he undresses the young women from the sentimental stories of his old magazines. In a first phase he chooses apartment scenes with one or two girls in their usual occupations. The condition of women has changed, fortunately, and these scenes which once would have been risqué are no longer shocking.
The old artist then takes a step forward towards eroticism. He reads again a sentimental story published in 1964 in Heart Throbs magazine. His young woman is the conformal copy of the original blonde except that now she is naked. He removes the texts which explained too directly her dramas.
The oil and acrylic on canvas 148 x 152 cm painted in 1995 was sold for $ 24M by Sotheby's on May 18, 2017, lot 8.
In the comic book the woman is sitting and leaning on the edge of the bed and dreams of her success : Danny likes me ; He likes me for me ; He does not know I can be beautiful. Once stripped by Roy she retains from the original version a too thick and too red mouth assessing that despite her perfect body her sex appeal is vulgar.
This painting is named Nude sunbathing, a surprising title since the original indoor scene is not contradicted in the nude version. Tentatively Roy was looking for an occupational excuse to justify the increasing eroticism of his art.
In the following year the taboos are finally removed with a charming image re-appropriated from further in the same story. In the comics the young woman in bed cannot fall asleep because her Danny is in love with another girl. Her gaze is languid. Roy takes off her nightgown : Seductive Girl was sold for $ 31.5M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
To join this everlasting theme of art, he undresses the young women from the sentimental stories of his old magazines. In a first phase he chooses apartment scenes with one or two girls in their usual occupations. The condition of women has changed, fortunately, and these scenes which once would have been risqué are no longer shocking.
The old artist then takes a step forward towards eroticism. He reads again a sentimental story published in 1964 in Heart Throbs magazine. His young woman is the conformal copy of the original blonde except that now she is naked. He removes the texts which explained too directly her dramas.
The oil and acrylic on canvas 148 x 152 cm painted in 1995 was sold for $ 24M by Sotheby's on May 18, 2017, lot 8.
In the comic book the woman is sitting and leaning on the edge of the bed and dreams of her success : Danny likes me ; He likes me for me ; He does not know I can be beautiful. Once stripped by Roy she retains from the original version a too thick and too red mouth assessing that despite her perfect body her sex appeal is vulgar.
This painting is named Nude sunbathing, a surprising title since the original indoor scene is not contradicted in the nude version. Tentatively Roy was looking for an occupational excuse to justify the increasing eroticism of his art.
In the following year the taboos are finally removed with a charming image re-appropriated from further in the same story. In the comics the young woman in bed cannot fall asleep because her Danny is in love with another girl. Her gaze is languid. Roy takes off her nightgown : Seductive Girl was sold for $ 31.5M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
1996 Seductive Girl
2013 SOLD for $ 31.5M by Christie's
In 1993, when Roy Lichtenstein focuses on the female nude, he actually starts two different lines of images. In one of them, the woman is nude in her apartment, busy in her daily activities. The other set shows her in bust, centered in a bold close-up composition where the frame is cutting hair, arms and lower breast.
Same as Munch, Lichtenstein is a great picture maker who prepares prints. Prints from his later career, after almost twenty years, regularly appear on the market. A printed copy of the 1994 nude with blue hair, 130 x 80 cm, was sold for $ 320K by Christie's on October 30, 2013.
A Seductive Girl painted on canvas in 1996, 127 x 183 cm, was sold for $ 31.5M from a lower estimate of $ 22M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
This pretty blonde on her bed is a sister of the young women painted by Roy thirty years earlier after copying images in the comic books. Her texture is also composed of colored dots more or less densely arranged for bringing the perspective.
Unlike her former friends, she is naked. As usual with Roy, this modern young woman establishes a communication with the viewer, but for once she is not troubled but troubling. She gently seduces the old Roy.
This creative impulse was unfortunately stopped in the following year by the sudden death of Roy, aged 74.
Same as Munch, Lichtenstein is a great picture maker who prepares prints. Prints from his later career, after almost twenty years, regularly appear on the market. A printed copy of the 1994 nude with blue hair, 130 x 80 cm, was sold for $ 320K by Christie's on October 30, 2013.
A Seductive Girl painted on canvas in 1996, 127 x 183 cm, was sold for $ 31.5M from a lower estimate of $ 22M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
This pretty blonde on her bed is a sister of the young women painted by Roy thirty years earlier after copying images in the comic books. Her texture is also composed of colored dots more or less densely arranged for bringing the perspective.
Unlike her former friends, she is naked. As usual with Roy, this modern young woman establishes a communication with the viewer, but for once she is not troubled but troubling. She gently seduces the old Roy.
This creative impulse was unfortunately stopped in the following year by the sudden death of Roy, aged 74.
