I Love Liberty (1982) is one of Roy Lichtenstein’s most direct engagements with American iconography, presenting a tightly cropped and highly stylized image of the Statue of Liberty. Rendered through bold contours, flat color, and mechanical clarity, the work transforms a monumental symbol into a controlled and graphic composition. Rather than emphasizing scale or grandeur, Lichtenstein reduces the image to its essential visual components, revealing how even the most powerful national symbols function as constructed images within a broader system of representation.

 

 

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Introduction

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I Love Liberty presents the head of the Statue of Liberty in a tightly cropped and highly stylized composition. The face is constructed through bold black outlines, flat areas of color, and Lichtenstein’s characteristic use of pattern, creating a surface that is both clear and deliberately artificial. The image retains the recognizable features of the monument, yet it is flattened and reorganized, transforming a three-dimensional symbol into a controlled graphic structure.

The print was created in 1982 as part of a broader engagement with American identity and national symbols. By this stage, Roy Lichtenstein had moved beyond direct comic imagery and was increasingly incorporating cultural and historical references into his work. The use of the Statue of Liberty situates the print within a lineage of American iconography, while the print medium reinforces his ongoing interest in reproduction and clarity.

The work operates on a subtle tension between symbol and construction. The Statue of Liberty, typically associated with ideals of freedom and national identity, is presented not as a monumental presence but as an image that can be simplified, cropped, and reassembled.

Executed by the artist for Norman Lear’s I Love Liberty TV special in 1982 (produced to mark George Washington’s 250^th birthday) the sharpness and vivid presence of Lady Liberty is thanks to Lichtenstein’s painstaking preparatory work.

Promotional poster for “I Love Liberty,” ABC TV, 1982

Lichtenstein does not question the symbol directly; instead, he reveals how it functions visually. The patriotic image becomes a designed object, suggesting that even the most powerful cultural icons are mediated through systems of representation.

I Love Liberty is valued for its strong visual identity and its engagement with a central American symbol. It reflects a moment in Lichtenstein’s career where his work broadens beyond popular imagery toward cultural and historical references. Collectors appreciate its clarity, its subject matter, and its position within his mature print practice.

Two Editions

Two distinct editions of I Love Liberty were produced in 1982, reflecting Lichtenstein’s dual approach to image-making at that stage of his career. On one hand, he created a formally editioned fine-art print, signed and strictly limited, intended for the traditional print market and aligned with the conventions of collectors, galleries, and auction houses. On the other, a larger-scale poster edition was produced for wider public distribution in connection with the national “I Love Liberty” celebration. This distinction is essential, as it illustrates the tension in Lichtenstein’s work between controlled artistic production and the broader circulation of images, a central theme in Pop Art itself.

The primary edition, catalogued as Corlett 192, is a screenprint in colors on Arches paper, signed, dated, and numbered from an edition of 250, with additional artist’s proofs. This is the standard reference work in the market, characterized by its larger format, refined surface, and precise execution. In contrast, the poster edition, catalogued separately, is an offset lithograph produced in an approximate edition of 5,000. It is typically unsigned and was intended for mass dissemination, retaining the same image but with a different status, both materially and in terms of value.

 

 

 

 

 

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I Love Liberty (Corlett 192)

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I Love Liberty

Medium: Screenprint in colors on Arches 88 paper
Year: 1982
Image: 32 3/8 x 21 inches (82.2 x 53.3 cm)
Sheet: 38 3/8 x 27 inches (97.5 x 68.6 cm)
Edition: 250
Artist’s Proofs: 73 AP
Publishers: The Artist and People for the American Way, Washington, D.C.
Was published as a fund raiser for People for the American Way a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, registered in 1981 by the television producer Norman Lear
Printer: La Paloma, Los Angeles
Literature: Corlett 192

Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil

 

 

 

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Auction Results

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Koller Zurich: 22 June 2023
Estimated: CHF 15,000 – 20,000
CHF 34,460 / USD 38,430

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 New York 1997)
I love Liberty, 1982
Color screenprint
Edition: 99/250
Signed and dated in pencil lower right: rf Lichtenstein © 82

ROY LICHTENSTEIN
I love liberty (Corlett 192), 1982
Silkscreen in colors on firm wove paper
Signed, dated, numbered and with the copyright sign
From an edition of 250 copies

Grisebach Berlin: 3 December 2021
Estimated: EUR 25,000 – 35,000
EUR 52,500 / USD 59,360

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – New York – 1997)
“I Love Liberty”, 1982
(Catalogue raisonné: Corlett 192)
Color serigraphy on wove paper
Signed and dated
One of 250 numbered prints from a total edition of 323 copies

Sotheby’s London: 15 September 2021
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 47,880 / USD 66,205

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
I Love Liberty (Corlett 192), 1982
Screen-print in colors
Signed in pencil, dated, numbered 83/250

Koller Zurich: 1 July 2021
Estimated: CHF 25,000 – 35,000
CHF 85,700 / USD 92,555
AUCTION RECORD FOR I LOVE LIBERTY

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 New York City 1997)
I love Liberty, 1982
Color screenprint on wove paper by Arches
Signed, numbered 196/250 and dated in pencil lower right: rf Lichtenstein © 82

Sotheby’s New-York: 22 April 2021
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 45,000
USD 75,600

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
I Love Liberty (Corlett 192), 1982
Screenprint in colors on Arches 88 paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 167/250

XXXXXXXXX

Christie’s online: 14 May 2020
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 43,750

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
I Love Liberty (Corlett 192), 1982
Screenprint in colors on Arches 88 paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 1/250

Bonhams Los Angeles: 14 May 2020
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 47,575

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
I Love Liberty (C. 192), 1982
Screenprint in colors on Arches 88 paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 186/250

Sotheby’s London: 19 March 2020
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 52,500 / USD 61,490

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
I LOVE LIBERTY (C. 192), 1982
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in pencil, dated, numbered AP 35/73
An artist’s proof aside from the edition of 250

XXXXXXXXXX

I Love Liberty (AP 70/73)
Christie’s London: 18 September 2019
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 50,000 / USD 62,375

I Love Liberty (221/250)
Sotheby’s New-York: 29 April 2019
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 60,000

I Love Liberty (x/250)
SBI Art Auction Tokyo: 3 November 2018
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
JPY 3,680,000 / USD 32,505

I Love Liberty (24/250)
Christie’s New-York: 24 October 2018
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 50,000

I Love Liberty (AP 35/73)
Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 14 July 2018
Estimated: JPY 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
JPY 3,800,000 (Hammer)
JPY 4,427,000 / USD 39,395

I Love Liberty (17/250)
Sotheby’s London: 27 March 2018
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 30,000 / USD 42,485

 

 

 

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I Love Liberty (Poster)

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I Love Liberty poster

Medium: offset lithograph in colors on 80# Quintessence dull coated cover stock
Year: 1982
Image: 29-5/8 x 19-3/8 inches (75×49 cm)
Sheet: 39 x 23-1/2 inches (99×60 cm)
Edition: Limited (approximately 5,000), unnumbered
Printer: Alan Lithograph, Inc., Los Angeles
Publishers: The Artist and People for the American Way, Washington, D.C.
Literature: Corlett III.29

Signed to lower right ‘rf Lichtenstein’

This poster was executed in conjunction with the I Love Liberty celebration, taped on 22 February 1982, in Los Angeles and broadcast on national television on 21 March 1982.

 

 

Auction Results

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LA Modern: 26 April 2023
Estimated: USD 5,000 – 7,000
USD 7,860

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923–1997)
I Love Liberty poster,1982
Offset lithograph in colors on 80# Quintessence dull coated cover stock
Signed to lower right ‘rf Lichtenstein’
This work is from the limited edition printed by Alan Lithograph, Inc., Los Angeles
Published by the artist and People for the American Way, Washington, D.C.