Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) is one of the most important artists of American Pop Art. Today, his works are represented in the most important museums worldwide. Born in New York, he began his art studies at the Art Students League and continued at Ohio State University, where he completed his master's degree after his military service. Initially influenced by Abstract Expressionism, Lichtenstein developed his very own style at the end of the 1950s, which was characterised by the visual language of mass media, advertising and comics. Particularly characteristic are his clear contours, bright primary colours and the striking ‘benday dots’, which he used to translate the printing technique of popular media into painting. From the 1960s onwards, he had international success with his large-format paintings, in which he took elements from advertising and comics and reinterpreted them in an artistic way. In addition to his artistic work, Lichtenstein also taught at Rutgers University, among other places. He achieved his breakthrough in 1962 with his participation in the exhibition ‘The New Realists’ at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York. Since then, his works have been shown worldwide, including at the documenta in Kassel and the Venice Biennale. He lived and worked in New York until his death in 1997. He was honoured many times for his work, including the prestigious Kyoto Prize (1995) and an honorary doctorate from the George Washington University in New York (1996).