Tate Introductions: Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), contemporary of Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns, is one of the best-known and most accessible artists of the Pop generation. Taking much of his subject matter from comics and advertising, Lichtenstein produced large, rigorous, and highly stylized paintings. Challenged at the time on the originality of his work, Lichtenstein maintained that the purpose and presentation of his paintings made them more than just reproduction, although—with characteristic self-deprecating humor—he also argued that his paintings weren’t really important to art in general. Ultimately, Lichtenstein’s imagery remains as popular and important as it was 50 years ago, as this vibrant introduction to his life and work makes clear.