Who is Roy Lichtenstein and what did he do?
Roy Lichtenstein is one of the most popular pop artists to live. He was able to gain a lot of attention for the bold colored parodies that he created. These parodies were displayed within advertisements and comic strips. He was able to create a unique sub-genre of art with his bold graphics works. Therefore, he is considered as one of the most prominent figures in the art world.
Early years of Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was born in the year 1923. New York City was the birthplace of this artist. Father of Roy Lichtenstein was Milton Lichtenstein, who was a real estate developer. He grew up in the Upper Western Side of Manhattan. From childhood, Roy Lichtenstein had a passion for both comic and science. He was able to discover his passion to art when he became a teenager. To take that passion to the next level, he started attending classes at the Parsons School of Design in the year 1937. He was able to meet some of the most renowned artists in United States while studying. Reginald Marsh was one of the most prominent artists out of them. These connections created a major impact on the future success of Roy Lichtenstein as well.
Upon graduation, Roy Lichtenstein decided to attend The Ohio State University located in Columbus. However, he was not able to complete the studies because of World War II. He was forced to work on wartime service. At the end of the war, he came back to complete the undergraduate degree. Along with that, he went ahead and obtained his master’s degree as well. Both of them were related to fine arts. He continued to teach at the Ohio State University for some time as well. After that, he moved out to work as a window display designer for one of the leading departments stores in the country. He was also working as a commercial art instructor in the meantime.
Ensuring commercial success and the introduction of pop art
During the 1940s, Roy Lichtenstein was able to get his exhibits showcases in art galleries that were located throughout the country. They included art galleries in the New York City and Cleveland as well. He was able to take the artistic subjects with related to mythology in the 1950s. This is where he started painting art with modernism.
Roy Lichtenstein was a person who loved to experiment along with art. He wanted to give a modernized look and feel to the artistic subjects that he got from American history. These experiments were able to deliver successful results to him. That created an ideal environment for him to go ahead and develop modernized art without facing any major challenges.
Shapero Modern says it didn’t take a long time for Roy Lichtenstein to get attention to his unique style of art. He was also able to grab the attention of some of the most popular American artists, including Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. He didn’t go ahead with painting abstract. Instead, he preferred painting on subject-less canvases. He was able to get inspiration from comic books to make his art look great. He was also able to integrate his emotions into art and deliver the best outcomes. This is where the new form of commercial art came into play. It received a lot of attention and contributed a lot towards the success of Roy Lichtenstein.
One of the most popular pieces of art created by Roy Lichtenstein is known as “Whaam!”. He dew this painting in the year 1963, upon being inspired from DC Comics. He was also able to portray the carton characters such as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse in unique ways to the advertisements. These advertisements for household products and food went viral because o the unique artwork introduced to them by Roy Lichtenstein.
Roy Lichtenstein also created a large mural of a laughing woman in the year 1964. This is where he was able to earn a lot of attention from the State Pavilion of 1964 World Fair, which was held in the New York City.
Along with time, Roy Lichtenstein started gaining attention for deadpan humor portrayed through his art. It is during this time he was working on the mass reproduction of images. By 1965, Roy Lichtenstein was able to become the leader in Pop Art movement. He was an influential figure as well. That’s mainly because he was able to draw the fine line between entertainment and fine art.
Later career of Roy Lichtenstein
By the end of 1960s, Roy Lichtenstein stopped using comic books for inspiration. He ventured into a new area of drawing., This is where Roy Lichtenstein focused more on creating art similar to world-famous masters such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. He was also able to pain the representations of modern mirror reflections, brushstrokes, and trademark. While working on these different styles of painting, he never ignored the unique cartoon like style that was iconic to him. On top of that, he continued to work on sculpture as well.
During the 1980s, Roy Lichtenstein was able to secure numerous large-scale commissions. Out of them, Brushstrokes in Flight, which was a 25-foot-high sculpture held a prominent place. This was constructed at the Port Columbus International Airport based on Ohio. On top of that, he was able to get the project to construct a five-storied tall mural, which was held in the lobby of Equitable Tower, based in New York. He continued to practice art until the end of his life. As of now, you can see the work of Roy Lichtenstein in his art studio and numerous museums located all around the world. He was able to secure multiple awards during the later days of his life as well.
Roy Lichtenstein died because of complications created by pneumonia in the year 1997. He was spending his time at the New York Medical Center, located in Manhattan during this time period.
