A Rare Behind-the-Scenes Peek into Roy Lichtenstein’s Creative Process
Roy Lichtenstein’s comics-inspired Pop Art works—filled with emotional blonde bombshells and handsome men named Brad—have become the artist’s legacy. But his vast oeuvre actually includes more than 5,000 paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings, including pieces that are far from his iconic style. Art historian and writer Avis Berman took on the challenging task of choosing 100 pieces from his six-decade career for a new volume of his work, Roy Lichtenstein: The Impossible Collection (Assouline, $895). While the book includes some of his most famous paintings, such as Drowning Girl, In the Car, and Girl with Ball, it also traces his evolution as an artist, going year by year from his days as an MFA student at The Ohio State University. Readers can see his paintings and drawings from the early 1940s and watch as he begins to incorporate the stylistic elements that would become his calling cards. Read on for a preview of the comprehensive volume celebrating one of America’s modern masters.