Red Barn

Medium: Screenprint on C. M. Fabriano – 100/100 Cotone paper
Year: 1969
Sheet: 19 1/16 x 26 1/16 inches (48.4 x 66.2 cm)
Image: 14 3/8 x 17 3/16 inches (36.5 x 43.6 cm)
Edition: 250
Publisher: Gabriele Mazzotta Editore, Milan
Printer: Unknown
Literature: Corlett 89

Roy Lichtenstein Catalogue Raisonne: RLCR 1764

Red Barn, 1969 (RLCR 1764) | Catalogue entry | Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné

Signed, dated and numbered in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp

Red Barn I, Roy Lichtenstein’s vibrant rendition of the bucolic American countryside, contains all the hallmarks of his iconic early Pop practice, namely strong colors, bold outlines, Ben-day dots and the distinctive diagonal hatching that signified his iconic visual style. One of a series of three artworks that features similar imagery, including Red Barn (screen-print on paper) and Red Barn II (oil and Magna on canvas, Museum Ludwig, Cologne), the present work belongs to a body of work that first emerged out of his classic Cartoon paintings. By using the backgrounds that he had excluded from his earlier works, the artist opened himself up to a dialogue with one of the most traditional genres in art history. In no other painting was Lichtenstein as innovative as he was in his paintings of landscapes, as the artist conveyed the indeterminate essence of light and form, or stylized versions thereof, through his own distinctive visual language, creating the impression of a landscape in a remarkably economical manner.

Christie’s New-York: 5 October 2020
USD 4,470,000

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Red Barn I, 1969
Oil and Magna on canvas
30×44 inches (76.2 x 111.8 cm)

Nestled in the lush countryside, the red barn is a striking addition to the landscape. With its dramatic coloring, sharply pitched roof, and towering silo, it cuts a dramatic silhouette against the verdant forms that surround it. Lichtenstein enhances the presence of the barn by his dramatic use of color and shadow. Flat planes of fire engine red denote the front of the main structure, its adjacent outbuilding and the silo. These facades are unembellished with any architectural details, except for the dark recesses of an open doorway, and the partial outline of a window and another door. The artist then adds dimensionality by painting the sides of the buildings mired in dark shadow. These pitch-black facades are, again, uninterrupted, except for the insertion of a small window emitting a blue light.

The slope of the roof is rendered in a black and white diagonal hatching to indicate a further planar perspective to the building. That the artist is able to construct a recognizable image of just three simple planes demonstrates Lichtenstein’s in-depth knowledge of how we look at and decode images. Lichtenstein’s interest in decoding images dates from the very earliest days of his career, and relates directly to Red Barn I as the source images is taken from the book How to Draw and Paint by Henry Gasser. Gasser was an artist who taught classes at the Art Students League in New York (where Lichtenstein was a student in 1939). It’s not known whether Lichtenstein took any of Gasser’s classes, but the technique of a later teacher, Hoyt Sherman, would have a great effect on Lichtenstein.

Auction Results

Pop Impressions: Prints from the Collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein
Sotheby’s New-York: 23 October 2025
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 25,000
USD 44,450

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Red Barn (Corlett 89; RLCR 1764), 1969
Screenprint in colors on C.M. Fabriano wove paper
Signed in pencil, dated and inscribed 135/250
This impression is number 135 from the edition of 250
Published by Gabriele Mazzotta Editore

Christie’s online: 17 July 2025
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 75,600
AUCTION RECORD FOR RED BARN

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Red Barn (Corlett 89), 1969
Screenprint in colors on Fabriano paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 76/250

Sotheby’s New-York: 22 October 2024
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 20,000
USD 50,400

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Red Barn (Corlett 89), 1969
Screenprint in colors on Fabriano wove paper
Sheet: 19 1/8 x 26 inches (48.5 x 65.9 cm)
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 240/250

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Red Barn (Corlett 89), 1969
Screenprint in colors on Fabriano wove paper
Signed in pencil and dated ’69 (lower left)
Numbered 156/250 (lower right)

Grisebach: 14 May 2023
Estimated: EUR 10,000 – 15,000
EUR 20,625

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Red Barn, 1969
Color silkscreen on wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 221/250

Sotheby’s London: 15 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 22,000 – 28,000
GBP 22,860

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
Red Barn (Corlett 89), 1969
Screen-print in colors
Signed in pencil, dated, numbered 74/250

Dorotheum Vienna: 2 December 2021
Estimated: EUR 6,000 – 8,000
EUR 28,160 / USD 30,428

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Red Barn, 1969
Screen-print in colors, on C. M. Fabriano paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 10/250

Koller Zurich: 1 July 2021
Estimated: CHF 10,000 – 15,000
CHF 36,900

Hindman Chicago: 5 May 2021
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 20,000
USD 31,250

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923–1997)
Red Barn, 1969
Screen-print
Signed, dated, and numbered 79/250 in pencil

Christie’s New-York: 24 October 2017
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 20,000
USD 27,500

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Red Barn, 1969
Screen-print in colors, on C. M. Fabriano paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 58/250