Known for movies

Short Info

DiedSeptember 29, 1997, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
SpouseDorothy Herzka, Isabel Wilson
FactHe was a painter and a sculptor.


Roy Lichtenstein was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, 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, the clichés of American popular culture. His work was heavily influenced by both popular advertising and the comic book style. He described pop art as “not ‘American’ painting but actually industrial painting”.

Lichtenstein was born in New York, into an upper-middle-class Jewish family. His father, Milton, was a real estate broker, his mother, a homemaker. He had two brothers—one older and one younger. Lichtenstein’s parents owned a small farm in New Jersey where he often visited as a child. These trips instilled a love of nature in the young Lichtenstein.

Lichtenstein first attended public school in New York City, then transferred to the progressive New York State School for the Deaf in White Plains, New York. He excelled academically and became active in extracurricular activities, particularly sports. He was on the swimming team and captain of the fencing team.

Lichtenstein began his artistic training at the age of fourteen when he enrolled in classes at the Art Students League of New York. He studied briefly at Ohio State University, then transferred to New York’s Cooper Union School of Art, where he received his BFA in 1941.

Lichtenstein served as an infantry sergeant in Europe during World War II. After the war, he returned to New York and continued his studies on the G.I. Bill at the Ohio State University, where he earned an MFA in 1949.

Lichtenstein’s early work was influenced by Cubism and Surrealism, but by the early 1950s he had begun to develop his own style, which was heavily influenced by both popular advertising and the comic book style. In 1952, Lichtenstein had his first solo show at the Carlebach Gallery in New York City.

In 1961, Lichtenstein created his first “pop” painting, entitled “Look Mickey”. The work was based on a Mickey Mouse comic strip and featured bold colors and large areas of solid color. The painting was an instant success and led to a series of “pop” paintings based on comic strips and advertisements.

In 1962, Lichtenstein had his first solo show at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City, which featured his “pop” paintings. The show was a huge success and firmly established Lichtenstein as a leading figure in the new art movement.

In 1963, Lichtenstein created his first sculpture, entitled “Brushstrokes in Flight”. The work was based on a cartoon image of a jet plane leaving a trail of smoke behind it. The sculpture was an instant success and led to a series of “pop” sculptures based on cartoon images.

In 1964, Lichtenstein was commissioned to create a mural for the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair. The mural, entitled “Mural with Blue Brushstrokes”, was an instant success and firmly established Lichtenstein as a leading figure in the new art movement.

In 1965, Lichtenstein created his most famous work, entitled “Whaam!”. The painting is based on a comic strip panel and features two jet planes firing missiles at each other. The painting is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1966, Lichtenstein created his first print, entitled “As I Opened Fire”. The print is based on a comic strip panel and features a gun firing bullets at a target. The print is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1967, Lichtenstein was commissioned to create a mural for the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair. The mural, entitled “Mural with Blue Brushstrokes”, was an instant success and firmly established Lichtenstein as a leading figure in the new art movement.

In 1968, Lichtenstein created his most famous work, entitled “Whaam!”. The painting is based on a comic strip panel and features two jet planes firing missiles at each other. The painting is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1969, Lichtenstein created his first sculpture, entitled “Brushstrokes in Flight”. The work was based on a cartoon image of a jet plane leaving a trail of smoke behind it. The sculpture was an instant success and led to a series of “pop” sculptures based on cartoon images.

In 1970, Lichtenstein was commissioned to create a mural for the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair. The mural, entitled “Mural with Blue Brushstrokes”, was an instant success and firmly established Lichtenstein as a leading figure in the new art movement.

In 1971, Lichtenstein created his most famous work, entitled “Whaam!”. The painting is based on a comic strip panel and features two jet planes firing missiles at each other. The painting is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1972, Lichtenstein created his first print, entitled “As I Opened Fire”. The print is based on a comic strip panel and features a gun firing bullets at a target. The print is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1973, Lichtenstein was commissioned to create a mural for the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair. The mural, entitled “Mural with Blue Brushstrokes”, was an instant success and firmly established Lichtenstein as a leading figure in the new art movement.

In 1974, Lichtenstein created his most famous work, entitled “Whaam!”. The painting is based on a comic strip panel and features two jet planes firing missiles at each other. The painting is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1975, Lichtenstein created his first sculpture, entitled “Brushstrokes in Flight”. The work was based on a cartoon image of a jet plane leaving a trail of smoke behind it. The sculpture was an instant success and led to a series of “pop” sculptures based on cartoon images.

In 1976, Lichtenstein was commissioned to create a mural for the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair. The mural, entitled “Mural with Blue Brushstrokes”, was an instant success and firmly established Lichtenstein as a leading figure in the new art movement.

In 1977, Lichtenstein created his most famous work, entitled “Whaam!”. The painting is based on a comic strip panel and features two jet planes firing missiles at each other. The painting is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1978, Lichtenstein created his first print, entitled “As I Opened Fire”. The print is based on a comic strip panel and features a gun firing bullets at a target. The print is one of the most iconic images of the pop art movement.

In 1979, Lichtenstein was commissioned to create a mural for the New York State Pavilion at the World’s Fair. The mural, entitled “Mural with Blue Brushstrokes”, was an instant success and firmly established Lichtenstein as a leading figure in the new art movement.

General Info

Full NameRoy Lichtenstein
DiedSeptember 29, 1997, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
ProfessionPainter, Sculptor, Fashion Designer, Visual Artist
EducationOhio State University, Dwight School, Parsons School of Design, Art Students League of New York
NationalityAmerican

Family

SpouseDorothy Herzka, Isabel Wilson
ChildrenMitchell Lichtenstein, David Lichtenstein
ParentsBeatrice Werner, Milton Lichtenstein

Social profile links

Quotes

#Quote
1I think that most people think painters are kind of ridiculous, you know?
2But usually I begin things through a drawing, so a lot of things are worked out in the drawing. But even then, I still allow for and want to make changes.
3I like to pretend that my art has nothing to do with me.
4I don't think that I'm over his influence but they probably don't look like Picassos; Picasso himself would probably have thrown up looking at my pictures.
5Personally, I feel that in my own work I wanted to look programmed or impersonal but I don't really believe I am being impersonal when I do it. And I don't think you could do this.
6I don't have big anxieties. I wish I did. I'd be much more interesting.
7I think we're much smarter than we were. Everybody knows that abstract art can be art, and most people know that they may not like it, even if they understand there's another purpose to it.
8I suppose I would still prefer to sit under a tree with a picnic basket rather than under a gas pump, but signs and comic strips are interesting as subject matter.
9But when I worked on a painting I would do it from a drawing but I would put certain things I was fairly sure I wanted in the painting, and then collage on the painting with printed dots or painted paper or something before I really committed it.
10Art doesn't transform. It just plain forms.
11Picasso's always been such a huge influence that I thought when I started the cartoon paintings that I was getting away from Picasso, and even my cartoons of Picasso were done almost to rid myself of his influence.
12There is a relationship between cartooning and people like Mir and Picasso which may not be understood by the cartoonist, but it definitely is related even in the early Disney.
13I'm interested in what would normally be considered the worst aspects of commercial art. I think it's the tension between what seems to be so rigid and cliched and the fact that art really can't be this way.
14Yes, you know sometimes, we started out thinking out how strange our painting was next to normal painting, which was anything expressionist. You forget that this has been thirty five years now and people don't look at it as if it were some kind of oddity.
15Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn't look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.
16I kind of do the drawing with the painting in mind, but it's very hard to guess at a size or a color and all the colors around it and what it will really look like.
17Yeah, you know, you like it to come on like gangbusters, but you get into passages that are very interesting and subtle, and sometimes your original intent changes quite a bit.
18In America the biggest is the best.
19I'm not really sure what social message my art carries, if any. And I don't really want it to carry one. I'm not interested in the subject matter to try to teach society anything, or to try to better our world in any way.
20You know, as you compose music, you're just off in your own world. You have no idea where reality is, so to have an idea of what people think is pretty hard.

Facts

#Fact
1He was a painter and a sculptor.
2He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1995 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC.
3Biography in: "American National Biography." Supplement 1, pp. 360-361 New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
4Designed the Dreamworks Records logo as a favor to his friends, David Geffen and Mo Ostin.
5Father of Mitchell Lichtenstein.
6Painter who pioneered the 'pop art' movement.

Movies

Director

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Step: Dock Water Moving1970Short
Sunset Water with Suspended Seagull1970

Visual Effects

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Play It As It Lays1972visual advisor - uncredited

Soundtrack

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Happy Tears2009performer: "Blues at the Door"

Thanks

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian2009acknowledgment: copyright owner, 'Crying Girl' [1964] - as Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
The Ice Storm1997special thanks: art contributions
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol1990Documentary thanks: for generous help and insight

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Inspirations1997DocumentaryHimself
U2: A Year in Pop1997TV Movie documentaryHimself
Art in an Age of Mass Culture1991Documentary shortHimself
Roy Lichtenstein1991DocumentaryHimself
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol1990DocumentaryHimself
Driving Me Crazy1988DocumentaryHimself
Pablo Picasso: The Legacy of a Genius1981DocumentaryHimself
The Shock of the New1980TV Mini-Series documentaryHimself
Seven Artists1979TV Series documentaryHimself
Roy Lichtenstein1975DocumentaryHimself
Warhol1973TV Movie documentary as Lichtenstein
American Art in the 1960s1972DocumentaryHimself
End of the Art World1971Documentary shortHimself
Lichtenstein in London1968ShortHimself
What's Happening?1967TV Movie documentaryHimself
Poem Posters1966ShortHimself
Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein1966ShortHimself

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Who Gets to Call It Art?2006DocumentaryHimself
How to Draw a Bunny2002DocumentaryHimself

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia

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