Roy Lichtenstein biography

Synopsis

Early Years

A groundbreaking American pop artist, Roy Fox Lichtenstein was born October 27, 1923, in Manhattan. He was the only child of Milton Lichtenstein, a prosperous real estate developer, and Beatrice Werner Lichtenstein. By all accounts, Lichtenstein was a quiet boy who kept to himself and showed a passion for science and comic books. At the age of 16, he became interested in art and began taking painting classes.

Following his graduation from The Franklin School, Lichtenstein attended The Ohio State University, but saw his time in Columbus, Ohio interrupted in 1943, when he was drafted and sent to Europe for World War II.

Following the war, Lichtenstein returned to Ohio State to finish his undergraduate degree in art, which he followed with a master's, allowing him to later teach at the university.

Commercial Success

For much of the 1950s, Lichtenstein, whose interest in Americana remained strong throughout his life, produced a range of work that blended his interest in American scenes (cowboys and Indians) with a touch that showed his reverence for European greats, such as Pablo Picasso. His body of work from this period also includes an interesting rendition of the famous painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware."

He started experimenting with pop art in the early 1960s, not long after he'd arrived at Rutgers University, where he'd been hired to teach. His work was as much a commentary on pop culture as it was on Abstract Expressionism. His paintings, which drew heavily on familiar characters found in comic books and advertising, seemed to be a direct contrast to the heavy-handed, search-for-meaning pieces coming out of so much of the rest of the art world.

His best-known image from this period is Whaam!, which Lichtenstein produced in 1963, using a comic book panel from a 1962 issue of DC Comics' All-American Men of War, as his inspiration. Later works included Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

"When I have used cartoon images, I've used them ironically," he once explained. "To raise the question: Why would anyone want to do this with modern painting?"

But his work caught fire with the public, and subsequently, art dealers. By the mid-1960s he was nationally known, even if his work wasn't nationally respected. His place in the art world was complex, prompting Life magazine to do a story on Lichtenstein in 1964 that posed the question: "Is he the worst artist in America?"

The artist hardly seemed rattled by it. Unlike his some of his contemporaries, Lichtenstein wasn't dogged by self-doubt or personal demons. He was cool and even-tempered, personality traits that further set him apart from his contemporaries like Andy Warhol.