Before the Mirror
from Mirrors of the Mind

Medium: Lithograph and screenprint in colors with embossing on BFK Rives roll paper
Year: 1975
Image: 35 1/4 x 25 inches (89.5 x 63.5 cm)
Sheet: 42 5/8 x 32 inches (108.2 x 81.2 cm)
Edition: 100
Artist’s Proofs: 30
Publisher: Multiples Inc. and Castelli Graphics, New York
Printer: Styria Studio, Inc.
Literature: Corlett 135

Roy Lichtenstein Catalogue Raisonne: RLCR 2334

Before the Mirror, 1975 (RLCR 2334) | Catalogue entry | Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné

Signed, dated and numbered in pencil with the printer’s blindstamp and the publisher’s inkstamp on verso

With Before the Mirror, Roy Lichtenstein brilliantly fuses Cubist still life and Pop minimalism, translating a traditional subject, a still life, into his unmistakable graphic vocabulary. Here, a drinking glass, lemon, and reflective surface are broken down into clean geometric planes, bold contours, and flat zones of color, including Lichtenstein’s signature black, white, lemon yellow, and deep ultramarine.

The composition plays with perception and abstraction. The mirror’s reflections are fragmented and stylized, evoking both the distortions of modern life and the legacy of artists like Picasso, Léger, and Gris. Yet Lichtenstein, in typical fashion, removes painterly emotion and replaces it with calculated detachment and industrial finish. His use of vertical stripes, suggesting reflection, shadow, or even metaphorical imprisonment—adds a layer of psychological ambiguity to this seemingly serene domestic moment.

In Before the Mirror, Lichtenstein proves that the ordinary can be elevated and reinterpreted through the lens of mass communication and high art, resulting in a sophisticated visual riddle disguised as simplicity.

Auction Results

Bukowskis Stockholm: 23 October 2025
Estimated: SEK 80,000 – 100,000
SEK 75,000 (Hammer)
SEK 93,750 / USD 9,990

Dorotheum Vienna: 5 June 2025
Estimated: EUR 7,000 – 10,000
EUR 14,300 / USD 16,330

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (New York 1923–1997)
“Before the mirror” (Corlett 235), 1975
From the portfolio ‘Mirrors of the Mind’
Lithograph and screenprint in colors with embossing on wove paper
Signed and dated rf Lichtenstein ‘75
No. 53 from the edition of 100 numbered examples
Published at Multiples Inc. and Castelli Graphics/New York

Rago: 12 February 2025
Estimated: USD 8,000 – 12,000
USD 15,840

Wright Chicago: 18 December 2024
Estimated: USD 8,000 – 12,000
USD 10,080

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (American 1923-1997)
Before the Mirror, from Mirrors of the Mind portfolio, 1975
Lithograph and screenprint in colors with embossing on Rives BFK paper
Signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 100 in pencil

Sotheby’s London: 15 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 7,000 – 10,000
GBP 11,430 / USD 13,890

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Before the Mirror, from Mirrors of the Mind(C. 135) , 1975
Lithograph and screen-print in colors with embossing on BFK Rives roll paper
Signed in pencil, dated, numbered 4/100

Koller Zurich: 30 June 2022
Estimated: CHF 7,000 – 9,000
CHF 16,160 / USD 16,935

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Before the Mirror, from the 10-part series Mirrors of the mind, 1975
Color screenprint on wove paper by BFK Rives
AP 15/30, an artist’s proof outside the edition of 100
Signed and dated in pencil lower right: rf Lichtenstein ’75
CONDITION NOTE: FADED

Bukowskis Stockholm: 2 November 2021
Estimated: SEK 80,000 – 100,000
SEK 75,000 (Hammer)
SEK 93,750 / USD 10,935

Phillips New-York: 22 October 2020
Estimated: USD 8,000 – 12,000
USD 21,420

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Before the Mirror, from Mirrors of the Mind (C. 135) , 1975
Lithograph and screen-print in colors with embossing on BFK Rives paper
Signed, dated and numbered 60/100 in pencil

SBI Art Auction: 2 November 2019
Estimated: JPY 800,000 – 1,400,000
JPY 2,875,000 / USD 26,570
AUCTION RECORD FOR BEFORE THE MIRROR