The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Poster
Medium: Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK Paper
Year: 1969
Image: 23×23 inches (58.4 x 58.4 cm)
Sheet: 28 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches (72.4 x 72.4 cm)
Edition: 250
Publisher: The Artist and Leo Castelli Gallery, for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Literature: Corlett 85
Roy Lichtenstein Catalogue Raisonne: RLCR 1789
Signed, dated and numbered in pencil
This image was created for Lichtenstein’s first solo exhibition in a New York museum (1969 New York Guggenheim) and was also produced as a poster (see RLCR 1790). The image was also featured on the cover of the October 1969 issue of ARTnews magazine.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Poster is immediately recognizable as a Lichtenstein, featuring his signature “comic-book” style with a circular, abstracted composition. The design uses a limited, bold palette of red, yellow, green, and black (primary colors and black). It also prominently features Ben-Day dots (small, uniform dots used in commercial printing to create tone and texture) meticulously rendered to give the image a machine-made, mass-produced quality. The circular design incorporates a variety of motifs, including elements that suggest architecture and nature, such as: a Roman column, part of a bridge, a man standing in the center, buildings, plants, and a horse’s head, all abstracted and flattened.
Two main editions were produced: (1) a signed and numbered limited edition of 250 prints, co-published by the artist and Leo Castelli Gallery; (2) a larger, unsigned poster edition (estimated 3,000–5,000 copies), published by Poster Originals, Ltd, which includes the exhibition title and dates encircling the image
Like much of Lichtenstein’s work, this poster employs the aesthetics of “low art” (commercial printing, comics, advertising) and elevates it into a “fine art” context, blurring the boundaries and offering a commentary on consumer culture and American society. The composition’s dominant circular form directly mirrors the famous spiral architecture of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum itself, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
The poster was created to advertise and commemorate Roy Lichtenstein’s first solo museum exhibition in New York at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The exhibition ran from September 19 – November 16, 1969
Exhibition: 1969 New York Guggenheim | Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné
Installation view of Roy Lichtenstein, a retrospective curated by Diane Waldman at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, 1969
Photo: © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, NY, courtesy RLF Archives; Artwork © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
This exhibition marked a pivotal moment in Lichtenstein’s career, cementing his status as a leading figure in the international Pop Art movement with a major retrospective at one of the world’s most prestigious modern art institutions. The image was highly visible, also being featured on the cover of the October 1969 issue of ARTnews magazine. In essence, the poster is a self-referential work that celebrates the artist, the museum, and the Pop Art movement, all rendered in the distinctive, ironic visual language that Lichtenstein pioneered.
The integration of architectural elements (column, bridge) with Lichtenstein’s signature Pop style and Ben-Day dots reflects his interest in the rigid geometry of architecture and its translation into a two-dimensional, graphic format. Some interpretations suggest that the continuous, flowing circular shapes, contrasting with the geometric forms like triangles (unity) and squares (integrity), express Lichtenstein’s take on the abstracted tendencies of contemporary art while nodding to the perpetuity suggested by the circle
Auction Results
Bonhams online: 25 November 2025
Estimated: USD 6,000 – 9,000
USD 8,320
ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Print (Corlett 83), 1969
Screenprint in colors on Rives paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 98/250
Co-published by the artist and Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
Estimated: USD 4,000 – 6,000
USD 13,970
Sotheby’s New-York: 22 October 2024
Estimated: USD 7,000 – 10,000
USD 20,400
AUCTION RECORD FOR THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM PRINT
ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (Corlett 83), 1969
Screenprint in colors on Rives wove paper
Sheet: 28 3/4 x 28 3/4 inches (73×73 cm)
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 247/250
John Moran: 26 March 2024
Estimated: USD 6,000 – 8,000
USD 10,795
ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Poster, 1969
Screenprint in colors on wove paper, watermark BFK Rives
Edition: 155/250
Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil in the lower margin, at right: rf Lichtenstein
Sotheby’s New-York: 24 October 2023
Estimated: USD 8,000 – 12,000
USD 10,160
ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (Corlett 83), 1969
Screenprint in colors on Rives wove paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 203/250
Rago: 1 June 2023
Estimated: USD 10,000 – 15,000
USD 10,080
ROY LICHTENSTEIN
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1969
Screen-print in colors on Rives BFK paper
Signed, dated and numbered to lower right ‘164/250 Roy Lichtenstein 69’
Phillips New-York: 21 April 2022
Estimated: USD 3,000 – 5,000
USD 11,340
ROY LICHTENSTEIN
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum poster (C. 83), 1969
Screen-print in colors on Rives BFK paper
Signed, dated and numbered 240/250 in pencil (there were also some artist’s proofs)
Sotheby’s New-York: 19 March 2021
Estimated: USD 5,000 – 7,000
USD 10,080
ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 – 1997)
The Solomon Guggenheim Museum Poster (Corlett 83), 1969
Screen-print in colors, 1969, , on Rives wove paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 220/250