Girl in Mirror

Last updated

Girl in Mirror
Girl in Mirror.jpg
Artist Roy Lichtenstein
Year1964
Movement Pop art
Location8 to 10 editions

Girl in Mirror (sometimes Girl in the Mirror) is a 1964 porcelain-enamel-on-steel pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein that is considered to exist in between eight and ten editions. One edition was part of a $14 million 2012 lawsuit regarding a 2009 sale, while another sold in 2010 for $4.9 million. Although it uses Ben-Day dots like many other Lichtenstein works, it was inspired by the New York City Subway rather than directly from a panel of a romance comics work.

Contents

Analysis

Girl in Mirror uses Ben-Day dots like many of his other works, but it was inspired by the hard reflective finish of signs in the New York City Subway system and, in turn, they inspired his subsequent ceramic head works. Enamel facilitated a more mechanical appearance than even his paintings while remaining in two dimensions. [1] After 1963, Lichtenstein's comics-based women "... look hard, crisp, brittle, and uniformly modish in appearance, as if they all came out of the same pot of makeup." This particular example is one of several that is cropped so closely that the hair flows beyond the edges of the canvas. [2]

Editions

One edition of this painting was the subject of a legal dispute involving 2009 sale without consent. Another edition of this work sold at auction at Christie's (New York, Rockefeller Plaza ) Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale for $4,898,500 (premium) on November 10, 2010 although it was only expected to sell in the $3–4 million range. [3] Girl in Mirror exists in eight editions according to most, however, "Clare Bell of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation said that inventory records for the Leo Castelli Gallery, where Lichtenstein showed in the 1960s, say that there may be 10 versions of the work, some of them original proofs". [4] One edition exhibited at the Gagosian Gallery in New York in 2008. [5] There had been three previous auction sales of this work: May 5, 1986 at Sotheby's New York for $ 100,000 USD (hammer), [6] May 4, 1987 at Sotheby's New York for $150,000 USD (hammer), [7] and May 15, 2007 Sotheby's New York for $3,600,000 (hammer)/$4,072,000 (premium). [8]

2012 lawsuit

On January 18, 2012, a suit was filed in Manhattan in New York State Court in a case related to two earlier federal cases. [9] The suit alleges both lack of consent and fraudulent misrepresentation of the painting's condition. [4] The suit was for $14 million, [4] including $10 million in punitive damages. [9] 93-year-old Jan Cowles claims that in 2008 her son, New York art dealer Charles Cowles, transferred a version of Girl in Mirror to Larry Gagosian for sale without her consent. [9] The suit claims that Gagosian fraudulently claimed the painting was damaged and sold it between August and December 2009 for $2 million, while charging a $1 million commission, [9] rather than sell at or above the $3 million low estimate for a negotiated commission of $500,000. [4] As a result of the edition shown during the summer 2008 "Roy Lichtenstein: Girls" exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery, at one point the gallery was in possession of two editions of Girl in Mirror, one of which was damaged. [4] The intake notes for the Cowles version indicate no damage and Gagosian's international marketing of the work was consistent with the undamaged condition. [4]

Reception

The New York Times notes that this was an example of Lichtenstein's ability to "glorify the American woman by giving innocuous images of her generic concocted self and her roiling emotions such blazing formal power". [5] Framing a small fragment of the image in the mirror serves an artistic purpose. "Extraordinary sections like ... linking the falling hair to the semi-reflected face of the girl in the mirror (Girl in the mirror, 1964) ... which cut up, analyse, and unite, all have the one aim of intensifying the signifying fragment." [10]

See also

Notes

  1. Waldman, Diane (1999). Roy Lichtenstein: Reflections. Electa. p. 29. ISBN   88-435-7287-3. Between 1963 and 1965, Lichtenstein produced a group of works in enamel, such as Girl in Mirror, 1964 (cat. 45). The subway signs he saw in New York inspired the hard finish and reflective surface. With the hard, slick enamel, Lichtenstein accomplished two objectives: he was able to move closer to achieving the look of mechanical perfection that he could only suggest in paintings of the period, and he reinforced the role of the two-dimensional image as an object. Girl in Mirror helped inspire a series of ceramic heads, which he began in 1965.
  2. Coplans, John, ed. (1972). "Introduction, Biographical Notes, Chronology of Imagery and Art". Roy Lichtenstein. Praeger Publishers. p. 23. Very often a head is cropped to such an extent that the hair flows outside the borders of the format ...
  3. "Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997): Girl in Mirror". Christie's. November 10, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Duray, Dan (January 24, 2012). "New Gagosian Lawsuit Alleges Lichtenstein Switcheroo". GalleristNY. The New York Observer . Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Roy Lichtenstein at Gagosian". The New York Times . June 10, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  6. "Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997): Girl in mirror". Blouin Art Sales Index. Retrieved May 15, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. "Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997): Girl in mirror". Blouin Art Sales Index. Retrieved May 15, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. "Contemporary Art Evening Sale: New York – 15 May 2007 07:00 PM N08317". Sotheby's . Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Kennedy, Randy (January 19, 2012). "Gagosian Sued for Selling Lichtenstein Painting Without Owner's Consent". The New York Times . Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  10. Boatto, Alberto and Giordano Falzoni (ed.). Lichtenstein (International ed.). Fantazaria. p. 56.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Lichtenstein</span> American pop artist (1923–1997)

Roy Fox Lichtenstein was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. His work defined the premise of pop art through parody. Inspired by the comic strip, Lichtenstein produced precise compositions that documented while they parodied, often in a tongue-in-cheek manner. His work was influenced by popular advertising and the comic book style. His artwork was considered to be "disruptive". He described pop art as "not 'American' painting but actually industrial painting". His paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Ruscha</span> American painter

Edward Joseph Ruscha IV is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film. He is also noted for creating several artist's books. Ruscha lives and works in Culver City, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brice Marden</span> American painter (1938–2023)

Nicholas Brice Marden Jr. was an American artist generally described as minimalist, although his work has roots in abstract expressionism, color field painting. and lyrical abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City; Tivoli, New York; Hydra, Greece; and Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art</span> Art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gagosian Gallery</span> Art gallery in Various

The Gagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. There are 16 gallery spaces – five in New York City, three in London, two in Paris, and one each in Basel, Beverly Hills, Rome, Athens, Geneva and Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Gagosian</span> American art dealer (born 1945)

Lawrence Gilbert "Larry" Gagosian is an American art dealer who owns the Gagosian Gallery chain of art galleries. Working in concert with collectors including Douglas S. Cramer, Eli Broad, and Keith Barish, he developed a reputation for staging museum-quality exhibitions of contemporary art.

<i>Girl with Ball</i> Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Girl with Ball is a 1961 painting by Roy Lichtenstein. It is an oil on canvas Pop art work that is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, after being owned for several decades by Philip Johnson. It is one of Lichtenstein's earliest Pop art works and is known for its source, which is a newspaper ad that ran for several decades and which was among Lichtenstein's earliest works sourced from pop culture.

<i>Oh, Jeff...I Love You, Too...But...</i> Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Oh, Jeff...I Love You, Too...But... is a 1964 oil and magna on canvas painting by Roy Lichtenstein. Like many of Lichtenstein's works its title comes from the speech balloon in the painting.

<i>Expressionist Head</i> Works by Roy Lichtenstein

Expressionist Head by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein is the name associated with several 1980s works of art. It is widely associated with a set of six identical sculptures but is also associated with a series of paintings.

<i>Sleeping Girl</i> (Lichtenstein) Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Sleeping Girl is a 1964 oil and Magna on canvas pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. It held the record for the highest auction price for a Lichtenstein painting from May 2012 until May 2013.

<i>I Can See the Whole Room...and Theres Nobody in It!</i> Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

I Can See the Whole Room...and There's Nobody in It! is a 1961 painting by Roy Lichtenstein. It is a painting of a man looking through a peephole. It formerly held the record for highest auction price for a Lichtenstein painting.

<i>Ohhh...Alright...</i> Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Ohhh...Alright... is a 1964 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. It formerly held the record for highest auction price for a Lichtenstein painting.

<i>In the Car</i> Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

In the Car is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. The smaller, older of the two versions of this painting formerly held the record for highest auction price for a Lichtenstein painting. The larger version has been in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh since 1980.

<i>Happy Tears</i> (Lichtenstein) Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Happy Tears is a 1964 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. It formerly held the record for highest auction price for a Lichtenstein painting.

<i>Woman with Flowered Hat</i> Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Woman with Flowered Hat is a 1963 pop art painting with Magna on canvas by Roy Lichtenstein. The work is based on a Pablo Picasso portrait of Dora Maar. In May 2013, it sold for a record price for a Lichtenstein work.

<i>Crying Girl</i> Two works by Roy Lichtenstein

Crying Girl is the name of two different works by Roy Lichtenstein: a 1963 offset lithograph on lightweight, off-white wove paper and a 1964 porcelain enamel on steel.

<i>Masterpiece</i> (Lichtenstein) Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Masterpiece is a 1962 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein that uses his classic Ben-Day dots and narrative content contained within a speech balloon. In 2017, the painting sold for $165 million.

Anna Weyant is a Canadian artist based in New York City, whose figurative paintings blend influence from the Dutch Golden Age with an awareness of contemporary popular culture and social media.

<i>Versus Medici</i> 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Versus Medici is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. The artwork, which references the Medici family, sold for $50.8 million at Sotheby's in May 2021.