Roy Fox Lichtenstein; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) 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. 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.
Whaam! and Drowning Girl are generally regarded as Lichtenstein’s most famous works. Drowning Girl, Whaam! and Look Mickey are regarded as his most influential works. His most expensive piece is Masterpiece, which was sold for $165 million in January 2017
Lichtenstein died of pneumonia on September 29, 1997 at New York University Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized for several weeks, four weeks before his 74th birthday. He was survived by his second wife, Dorothy Herzka, and by his sons, David and Mitchell, from his first marriage.
