υτδηφηφγrt RoyLichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein
right: Roy Lichtenstein, Look

Mickey, 1961, oil on canvas,
National Gallery of Art, Gift of
Roy and Dorothy Lichtenstein in
Honor of the 50th Anniversary
of the National Gallery of Art.
Board of Trustees, National
Gallery of Art, Washington
This was the first time I decided

to make a painting really look
like commercial art. The
approach turned out to be so
interesting that eventually it
became impossible to do any
other kind of painting. Roy
Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein kept this painting,

one with personal significance,
in his possession until he and
his wife gave it to the National
Gallery in 1990.
below: Roy Lichtenstein (detail)

Christopher Felver/Corbis
1 Pop!
In the 1950s and 1960s, young British and American
artists made popular culture their subject matter. By
incorporating logos, brand names, television and car-
toon characters, and other consumer products into their
work, these artists blurred the boundaries between art
2
and everyday life.
Roy Lichtenstein was one of the originators of this new
pop movement. Fascinated by printed mass media, par-
ticularly newspaper advertising and cartoon or comic
Roy
book illustration, Lichtenstein developed a style charac-
Born and raised in New York City, Roy Lichtenstein
terized by bold lines, bright colors, dot patterns, and
(19231997) began to draw and paint when he was a
sometimes words.
teenager. During this time he also developed a passion
for jazz and science, and he enjoyed visiting museums.
He went to Ohio State University to study fine arts,
but his college years were interrupted when he was
drafted into the army and sent to Europe during World
The art of today is all around us. War II. After returning to Ohio State and completing
Roy Lichtenstein his studies, Lichtenstein worked as a graphic designer
and taught art at several universities. In the 1960s he
quickly emerged as a leading practitioner of pop art.
This success allowed him to dedicate himself full-time
to making art.
154 Questioning Traditions

3
Its a matter of re-seeing it in your own way.
Roy Lichtenstein
A Big One
Lichtensteins breakthrough came in 1961 when he
painted Look Mickey. It is one of his earliest paintings to
use the visual language of comic strips. The idea for the
painting came from a scene in the 1960 childrens book
Donald Duck: Lost and Found, a copy of which probably
belonged to the artists sons.
Lichtenstein used the design conventions of the comic
strip: its speech bubble, flat primary colors, and ink-dot
patterns that mimic commercial printing. These Benday
dots became Lichtensteins trademark. Invented by
Benjamin Day in 1879, the dots were used in comic
strips and newspapers as an inexpensive way to print
shades and color tints. Look at Donalds eyes and
Mickeys face: Lichtenstein made those dots by dipping a
dog-grooming brush into paint and then pressing it on
the canvas! He later used stencils to help him paint dots.
4 Look!
Lichtenstein often enlarged, simplified, and reworked
images he found. He never copied the source.
Compare the storybook illustration with Lichtensteins
painting. What parts are similar? What differences can
you find?
Examine the changes the artist made
He simplified the background by removing three people
He rotated the direction of the dock
He added the word bubble, which makes the text a part

of the picture
He translated the illustration into an image in primary

colors, using red, blue, and yellow on a white background
By making paintings that look like enlarged comic

strips, Lichtenstein surprised and shocked many
viewers. Why? He made people think about where
images come from and how they are made.
Cover and illustration by

Bob Grant and Bob Totten
from Carl Buettner, Donald
Duck: Lost and Found, 1960.
1960 Disney

Bull I, no. 116 Bull II, no. 117
trythis
Moving Toward Bull III, no. 118 Bull IV, no. 119
Abstraction
In his Bull series of 1973, Lichtenstein
explored the progression of an image from
representation to abstraction. Beginning
with a recognizable drawing of a bull,
Lichtenstein simplified, exaggerated, and
rearranged the colors, lines, and/or shapes
until the animal was almost unrecognizable.
This series reveals the steps of the artistic
process: the body of the bull is reduced to
geometric shapes of triangles and squares,
the blue areas refer to the bulls hide, and Bull V, no. 120 Bull VI, no. 121
curved lines suggest the horns and tail.
Study the images
How are the pictures similar? How are they

different?
Which one do you find most intriguing?
Why?
Would you know the last one is a picture
of a bull if you didnt see it in this series?
Create a series of your own Roy Lichtenstein, 1973, National

Gallery of Art, Gift of Gemini
Start with a photograph of a place, person, G.E.L. and the Artist
or object. You can take the photo yourself,
or cut one out of a magazine or newspaper.
Then, create a series of two, three, or more
drawings. Make each one more abstract
by simplifying the shapes, colors, and lines.
Reduce them each time until you can no
longer recognize your subject.

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Roy Lichtenstein

right: Roy Lichtenstein, Look

This was the first time I decided

Lichtenstein kept this painting,

below: Roy Lichtenstein (detail)

154 Questioning Traditions

He simplified the background by removing three people

He rotated the direction of the dock

He added the word bubble, which makes the text a part

He translated the illustration into an image in primary

By making paintings that look like enlarged comic

Cover and illustration by

155 Questioning Traditions

Study the images

How are the pictures similar? How are they

Create a series of your own Roy Lichtenstein, 1973, National

156 Questioning Traditions

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