Roy Lichtenstein - Masterpiece Curations

“My work isn’t about form. It’s about seeing.” ~Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein (pronunciation) was an American pop artist who became one of the most influential and important artists of the second half of the 20th century. He is best known for his paintings which often incorporated images from comics and advertisements. His work was a major force in the development of the Pop Art movement.

Lichtenstein was born in New York City on October 27, 1923. His father was a real estate broker and his mother was a homemaker, and he had two brothers. As a child, he was interested in art and music, and he often painted and drew at home.

Roy attended public schools in New York City, where he excelled at both art and sports. He was captain of his tennis team and also served as class president. He graduated from high school in 1940 then enrolled at Ohio State University, where he studied Fine Arts.

He was drafted into the Army in 1943 and served during World War II. After the war, Lichtenstein returned to Ohio State and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1949. It was after this that Lichtenstein began his career as a painter. His early work was Abstract Expressionist in style, but he later developed his own style, which he called “Pop Art.” These paintings often featured images from comics and advertisements.

He married artist Dorothy Herzka in 1951, and the couple had two sons. Later, in 1962, he started exhibiting his work, and he quickly rose to prominence in the art world He was famous for his “Brushstrokes” paintings, in which he used a printing process to create the appearance of brushstrokes. He was also friends with fellow pop artist Andy Warhol, and the two collaborated on a number of projects. Lichtenstein’s work was often seen as a parody of Warhol’s style.

He continued to paint until his death in 1997. Lichtenstein’s work has been a major influence on subsequent generations of artists, and his legacy remains strong today. His work is included in the collections of many major museums, and he is widely considered to be one of the most important artists of modern art.