Masterpiece (Roy Lichtenstein)

Last updated

Masterpiece
Masteripiece.jpg
Artist Roy Lichtenstein
Year1962
Movement Pop art
Dimensions137 cm× 137 cm(54 in× 54 in)

Masterpiece is a 1962 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein that uses his classic Ben-Day dots and a speech balloon. It is known for its narrative content that predicted Lichtenstein's fame. In 2017 the painting sold for $165 million.

Pop art Art movement

Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the United Kingdom and the United States during the mid- to late-1950s. The movement presented a challenge to traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular and mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane cultural objects. One of its aims is to use images of popular culture in art, emphasizing the banal or kitschy elements of any culture, most often through the use of irony. It is also associated with the artists' use of mechanical means of reproduction or rendering techniques. In pop art, material is sometimes visually removed from its known context, isolated, or combined with unrelated material.

Roy Lichtenstein 20th-century American pop artist

Roy Fox Lichtenstein was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, 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. 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.

Contents

Background

According to the Lichtenstein Foundation website, Masterpiece was part of Lichtenstein's first exhibition at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles from April 1 – April 27, 1963, featuring Drowning Girl , Portrait of Madame Cézanne and other works from 1962 and 1963 [1] When discussing another work ( I Know...Brad ), Lichtenstein stated that the name Brad sounded heroic to him and was used with the aim of cliched oversimplification. [2] Drowning Girl is another notable work with Brad as the heroic subject. [3]

The Ferus Gallery was a contemporary art gallery operating from 1957-1966. In 1957 it was located at 736-A North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. In 1958, it was relocated across the street to 723 North La Cienega Boulevard where it remained until its closing in 1966.

<i>Drowning Girl</i> Painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Drowning Girl is a 1963 painting in oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas by Roy Lichtenstein. Using the conventions of comic book art, a thought bubble conveys the thoughts of the figure, while Ben-Day dots echo the effect of the mechanized printing process. It is one of the most representative paintings of the pop art movement, and part of the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection since 1971. The painting is considered among Lichtenstein's most significant works, perhaps on a par with his acclaimed 1963 diptych Whaam!. Drowning Girl has been described as a "masterpiece of melodrama", and is one of the artist's earliest images depicting women in tragic situations, a theme to which he often returned in the mid-1960s.

<i>Portrait of Madame Cézanne</i> (Roy Lichtenstein) painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Portrait of Madame Cézanne is a 1962 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. It is a quotation of Erle Loran's diagram of one of Paul Cézanne's 27 portraits of his wife Marie-Hortense Fiquet, now in the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia. It was one of the works exhibited at Lichtenstein's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. The work became controversial in that it led to a reconsideration of what constitutes art.

The source of this image was a comic book panel with the two subjects positioned similarly to their position here, but they were situated in an automobile. In the source image the narrative content of the speech balloon said "But someday the bitterness will pass..." [4]

Masterpiece was part of the largest ever retrospective of Lichtenstein that visited The Art Institute of Chicago from May 16 to September 3, 2012, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. from October 14, 2012 to January 13, 2013, the Tate Modern in London from February 21 to May 27, 2013 and The Centre Pompidou from July 3 to November 4, 2013. [5] [6] [7] Several publications presented Masterpiece as part of their announcement of the retrospective. [8] [9] [10]

Art Institute of Chicago art museum and school in Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879 and located in Chicago's Grant Park, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 million guests annually. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatorial departments, is encyclopedic, and includes iconic works such as Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Pablo Picasso's The Old Guitarist, Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, and Grant Wood's American Gothic. Its permanent collection of nearly 300,000 works of art is augmented by more than 30 special exhibitions mounted yearly that illuminate aspects of the collection and present cutting-edge curatorial and scientific research.

National Gallery of Art national art museum in Washington, D.C.

The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the United States Congress. Andrew W. Mellon donated a substantial art collection and funds for construction. The core collection includes major works of art donated by Paul Mellon, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, Samuel Henry Kress, Rush Harrison Kress, Peter Arrell Browne Widener, Joseph E. Widener, and Chester Dale. The Gallery's collection of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, medals, and decorative arts traces the development of Western Art from the Middle Ages to the present, including the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas and the largest mobile created by Alexander Calder.

Washington, D.C. Capital of the United States

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.

In January 2017, Agnes Gund sold the 1962 painting Masterpiece, which for years hung over the mantle of her Upper East Side apartment, for $165 million. The proceeds of the sale will be used to start a fund for criminal justice reform called the Art for Justice fund. The painting is currently one of the 15 highest prices ever to be paid for a piece of artwork. [11] The purchaser was Steven A. Cohen. [12]

Agnes Gund is an American philanthropist and arts patron, collector of modern and contemporary art, and arts education and social justice advocate. She is President Emerita of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Chairman of its International Council. She is also Chairman of MoMA PS1. In 1977, in response to New York City's fiscal crisis that led to budget cuts that virtually eliminated arts education in public schools, Gund founded Studio in a School, a non-profit organization that engages professional artists as art instructors in public schools and community based organizations to lead classes in drawing, printmaking, painting, collage, sculpture, and digital media, and to work with classroom teachers, administrators, and families to incorporate visual art into their school communities.

Upper East Side Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City

The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park/Fifth Avenue, 59th Street, the East River, and 96th Street. The area incorporates several smaller neighborhoods, including Lenox Hill, Carnegie Hill, and Yorkville. Once known as the Silk Stocking District, it is now one of the most affluent neighborhoods in New York City.

Criminal justice reform in the United States

Criminal justice reform in the United States is aimed at fixing perceived errors in the criminal justice system. Goals of organizations spearheading the movement for criminal justice reform include decreasing the United States' prison population, reducing prison sentences that are perceived to be too harsh and long, altering drug sentencing policy, policing reform, reducing overcriminalization, and juvenile justice reform. Criminal justice reform also targets reforming policies for those with criminal convictions that are receiving other consequences from food assistance programs, outside of serving their time in prison.

Critical response

Masterpiece is regarded as a tongue in cheek joke that reflects upon Lichtenstein's own career. [5] In retrospect, the joke is considered "witty and yet eerily prescient" because it portended some of the future turmoil that the artist would endure. [8] In the painting, the blonde female's speech bubble, "Why, Brad darling, This painting is a masterpiece! My, soon you'll have all of New York clamoring for your work!" conveys her remark as she gazes at the painting, of which a corner of the back is shown. Silent Brad conveys his agreement by his facial expression. [10] Adrian Searle of The Guardian says that the 1962 work, whose narrative and graphical content were both borrowed, was timely because Lichtenstein had his first exhibition in New York City at Leo Castelli Gallery that year, making the painting aspirational in an ironic way that comments on success and "the socio-sexual status of the hot young artist". [10] The satirical commentary on Lichtenstein's career, followed the inside joke made the year before in Mr. Bellamy . [13] According to Roberta Smith of The New York Times , Masterpiece was one of Lichtenstein's works created in a way that produced "faint and uneven" Ben Day dots. [14]

Adrian Searle is the chief art critic of The Guardian newspaper in Britain, and has been writing for the paper since 1996. Previously he was a painter.

<i>The Guardian</i> British national daily newspaper

The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian, and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly, the Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of the Guardian free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for The Guardian the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders.

Leo Castelli American art dealer

Leo Castelli was an Italian-American art dealer. His gallery showcased contemporary art for five decades. Among the movements which Castelli showed were Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Neo-Dada, Pop Art, Op Art, Color field painting, Hard-edge painting, Lyrical Abstraction, Minimal Art, Conceptual Art, and Neo-expressionism.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Chronology". Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ Coplans, p. 110.
  3. ↑ "Drowning Girl". LichtensteinFoundation.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  4. ↑ Katie R. (July 12, 2012). "Lichtenstein FAQs, Part Two". Art Institute of Chicago . Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Gayford, Martin (February 20, 2013). "Roy Lichtenstein's Tate Retrospective". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  6. ↑ Kirkova, Deni (February 19, 2013). "Pop goes the Tate! Iconic works of Roy Lichtenstein brought together for exciting new exhibition at the Tate Modern". Daily Mail . Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  7. ↑ "'Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective' Debuts At The Art Institute of Chicago (PHOTOS)". The Huffington Post . May 22, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Lichtenstein: A Retrospective". Time Out . February 26, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  9. ↑ Stinebring, Anna-Claire (July 26, 2012). "Masters of surface: Roy Lichtenstein in Chicago, "Mad Men" on TV". Salon . Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 Searle, Adrian (February 18, 2013). "Roy Lichtenstein: too cool for school?". The Guardian . Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  11. ↑ Pogrebin, Robin (2017-06-11). "Agnes Gund Sells a Lichtenstein to Start Criminal Justice Fund". The New York Times . Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  12. ↑ Frank, Robert (June 12, 2017). "Steve Cohen buys Lichtenstein's 'Masterpiece' for $165 million". CNBC . Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  13. ↑ Shanes, Eric (2009). Pop Art. Parkstone Press. pp. 38 & 87. ISBN   1844846199 . Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  14. ↑ Smith, Roberta (June 11, 2008). "The Painter Who Adored Women". The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2013.

Related Research Articles

<i>Whaam!</i> 1963 diptych painting by American artist Roy Lichtenstein

Whaam! is a 1963 diptych painting by the American artist Roy Lichtenstein. It is one of the best-known works of pop art, and among Lichtenstein's most important paintings. Whaam! was first exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City in 1963, and purchased by the Tate Gallery, London, in 1966. It has been on permanent display at Tate Modern since 2006.

<i>Grrrrrrrrrrr!!</i> painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Grrrrrrrrrrr!! is a 1965 oil and Magna on canvas painting by Roy Lichtenstein. Measuring 68 in × 56.125 in, it was bequeathed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum collection from Lichtenstein's estate. It depicts a head-on representation of an angry dog growling with the onomatopoeic expression "Grrrrrrrrrrr!!". The work was derived from Our Fighting Forces, which also served as the source for other military dog paintwork by Lichtenstein.

<i>Torpedo...Los!</i> painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Torpedo...Los! is a 1963 pop art oil on canvas painting by Roy Lichtenstein. When it was last sold in 1989, The New York Times described the work as "a comic-strip image of sea warfare". It formerly held the record for the highest auction price for a Lichtenstein work. Its 1989 sale helped finance the construction of the current home of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago in 1991.

<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>I Know...Brad</i> painting by Roy Lichtenstein

I Know...Brad is a 1964 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein that uses his classic Ben-Day dots and a speech balloon. The work is located at the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst in Aachen. It is an example of how Lichtenstein used his artistry to make significant changes to the original comics sources.

<i>Brushstrokes</i> series

Brushstrokes series is the name for a series of paintings produced in 1965–66 by Roy Lichtenstein. It also refers to derivative sculptural representations of these paintings that were first made in the 1980s. In the series, the theme is art as a subject, but rather than reproduce masterpieces as he had starting in 1962, Lichtenstein depicted the gestural expressions of the painting brushstroke itself. The works in this series are linked to those produced by artists who use the gestural painting style of abstract expressionism made famous by Jackson Pollock, but differ from them due to their mechanically produced appearance. The series is considered a satire or parody of gestural painting by both Lichtenstein and his critics. After 1966, Lichtenstein incorporated this series into later motifs and themes of his work.

<i>As I Opened Fire</i> painting by Roy Lichtenstein

As I Opened Fire is a 1964 oil and magna on canvas painting by Roy Lichtenstein. The work is hosted at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The source of the subject matter is Jerry Grandenetti's panels from "Wingmate of Doom," in All American Men of War, no. 90, DC Comics.

<i>Engagement Ring</i> (Roy Lichtenstein) 1961 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Engagement Ring is a 1961 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. The work is based on the Winnie Winkle series, but Lichtenstein changed both the graphical description and the narrative accompaniment that he presents in a speech balloon. As with most of his early romance comics works, this consisted of "a boy and a girl connected by romantic dialogue and action".

<i>M-Maybe</i> 1965 pop art painting

M-Maybe is a 1965 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. It is one of his romance comics-based works.

<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> (Roy 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>Hopeless</i> (Roy Lichtenstein) painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Hopeless is a 1963 painting with oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas by Roy Lichtenstein. The painting is in the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel.

We Rose Up Slowly is a 1964 painting by Roy Lichtenstein. Materials includes oil and magna on two canvas panels. The painting measures 68 inches (170 cm) x 92 inches (230 cm).

<i>Bratatat!</i> painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Bratatat! is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein in his comic book style of using Ben-Day dots and a text balloon.

<i>Varoom!</i> painting by Roy Lichtenstein

Varoom! is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein that depicts an explosion and the onomatopoeic sound that gives it its name.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.