Ohhhalright, 1964 > Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein was born in New York in 1923. He studied at the Art Student’s League in New York under Reginald Marsh, before completing his Master of Arts at Ohio State University. Upon returning to New York, he worked as a commercial artist and designer and did display work for shop windows. After passing through an Abstract Expressionist stage, Lichtenstein moved to Pop Art. His paintings and drawings at this time were parodies of American art of the 1920's. His exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery, New York in 1962 was a great success and helped establish his position as one of the founders of Pop Art. Lichtenstein was known for his interpretation of the subjects and commercial style of cartoons and advertising. This launched the Pop Art movement of the 1960's by bringing popular culture into fine art. He took his subjects from their original context and would parody them. Lichtenstein's wry personality seemed to be reflected in his humorous appropriation of "low-art" subjects. He would take comic strips, blow up the images and reproduce the primary colours and dots of the cheap printing process. Lichtenstein used bold outlines, vivid colours and stylised forms to simulated mechanical reproduction techniques, like his signature Ben Day dots (a screening technique used in printing).