Roy Lichtenstein | Two paintings: Dagwood (1984)

Image 129.1 x 91.1 cm on vélin by Arches 136.8 x 98.8 cm.
From the 9-part series "Paintings", 1982 - 1985.

From the Catalogue:

In his large-scale print “Two Paintings: Dagwood” from 1984, Roy Lichtenstein proves his outstanding talent as a print maker. With woodcut and lithography, he masterfully combines two different printing techniques, which he also designs in colour. Furthermore, the composition is very complex, for as the title suggests, he portrays excerpts of paintings in the works, meaning he must, in this present case, choose two details, which then work as a composition. On the left-hand side, we see an abstract painting, reminiscent of Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke painting; opposite he sets a detail from a painting with the comic figure “Dagwood”. The latter makes the work distinguishable as a work by Roy Lichtenstein at first glance, who has used comics from the very beginning as model for his works. Dagwood is from the comic series “Blondie” from the 1930’s/40’s. It is known for its huge sandwiches, after which actual sandwiches were then named.

Technique and composition are so complex and intricate, that Lichtenstein first completed the drawing and collage, which he handed over complete to the printing company. With other prints, he only completed the collage during works at the printers. The choice of details, their composition and the decision, at which point to use lithography or woodcut, made exact preparation necessary.

Born in New York in 1923, Roy Lichtenstein, along with Andy Warhol, belongs to the most influential artists in Pop Art.
—Courtesy of Koller

Signature: Signed and dated lower right: rf Lichtenstein 84. On the reverse with the copyright stamp of Gemini, as well as of King Features Syndicate and the workshopnumber: RL83-1086.

Image rights: Courtesy of Koller Auktionen

Publisher: Published and printed by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles (with the blindstamp).

Catalogue raisonné: Corlett, no. 207.

About Roy Lichtenstein

When American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein painted Look Mickey in 1961, it set the tone for his career. This primary-color portrait of the cartoon mouse introduced Lichtenstein’s detached and deadpan style at a time when introspective Abstract Expressionism reigned. Mining material from advertisements, comics, and the everyday, Lichtenstein brought what was then a great taboo—commercial art—into the gallery. He stressed the artificiality of his images by painting them as though they’d come from a commercial press, with the flat, single-color Ben-Day dots of the newspaper meticulously rendered by hand using paint and stencils. Later in his career, Lichtenstein extended his source material to art history, including the work of Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso, and experimented with three-dimensional works. Lichtenstein’s use of appropriated imagery has influenced artists such as Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, and Raymond Pettibon.

American, 1923-1997, New York, New York, based in New York and Southampton, New York