In 1996, Roy Lichtenstein primarily focused on his Landscapes in the Chinese Style series and the Modern Art prints (specifically Modern Art I and Modern Art II), continuing his career-long exploration of art historical styles through the lens of his signature Pop Art aesthetic.
Introduction
Modern Art I & Modern Art II are a “parody of ‘modern art'”, deconstructing and fusing elements from various modernist movements like Cubism, Surrealism, and Geometric Abstraction into a single, slick, cartoon-like composition. Using his typical mechanical reproduction style, Lichtenstein reduced iconic styles to their essential aesthetic parts, examining the nature of representation and artistic style itself.
1. Modern Art I (Corlett 300)
These works were created at the very end of Lichtenstein’s life; he died in 1997. Modern Art I and Modern Art II were published in 1996, while the Chinese Landscape series was exhibited at the Castelli Gallery the same year. The context of their creation is that of an artist in his final years, reflecting on and engaging with the entire history of art and his own artistic process. The inspiration for the landscapes partly came from an Edgar Degas exhibition of monochromatic prints, which Lichtenstein felt had a similar ethereal quality to Chinese scroll paintings.
2. Modern Art II (Corlett 301)
The 1996 works represent Lichtenstein’s late-career synthesis of his Pop Art strategies with a deep engagement in abstraction and art history. His ability to appropriate and transform source materials, whether comic books or classical art, into his own distinct visual language, cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in modern art who blurred the boundaries between high and low culture.
Modern Art I (C. 300)
Modern Art I
Medium: Screenprint in colors on Lanaquarelle watercolor paper
Year: 1996
Image: 43 5/8 x 30 3/4 inches (111 x 78.4 cm)
Sheet: 51 1/4 x 37 3/4 inches (130.3 x 95.9 cm)
Edition: 50
Artist’s Proofs: 10
Publisher: Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles
Literature: Corlett 300, Gemini 1670
Roy Lichtenstein Catalogue Raisonne: RLCR 4563
Modern Art I, 1996 (RLCR 4563) | Catalogue entry | Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné
Signed, dated and numbered in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamps and ink stamp on the reverse
Auction Results
Bonhams Los Angeles: 29 March 2022
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 94,062.50
Screen-print in colors on Lanaquarelle watercolor paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 35/50
Christie’s New-York: 21 October 2021
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 87,500
ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Modern Art I, 1996
Screen-print in colors, on Lanaquarelle watercolor paper
Signed, dated and inscribed ‘To Kirk’ in pencil, numbered 40/50
Modern Art II (C. 301)
Modern Art II
Medium: Screenprint in colors on Lanaquarelle watercolor paper
Year: 1996
Image: 40 5/8 x 31 1/8 inches (103.2 x 79 cm)
Sheet: 48 1/4 x 38 3/8 inches (122.5 x 97.3 cm)
Edition: 50
Artist’s Proofs: 10
Publisher: Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles
Literature: Corlett 301, Gemini 1671
Roy Lichtenstein Catalogue Raisonne: RLCR 4564
Modern Art II, 1996 (RLCR 4564) | Catalogue entry | Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné
Signed, dated and numbered in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamps and ink stamp on the reverse
Auction Results
Sotheby’s New-York: 2 May 2015
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 20,000
USD 30,000
ROY LICHTENSTEIL
Modern Art II (C. 301), 1996
Screen-print in colors on Lanaquarelle watercolor paper
Signed in pencil, dated, inscribed ‘AP 8/10’
An artist’s proof aside from the numbered edition of 50