ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997)
Reverie196527 x 23 in.(68.58 x 58.42 cm) screenprint on wove paper
Provenance
Hamilton SelwayPrivate Collection
Literature
Paul Bianchini, ed. Roy Lichtenstein: Drawings and Prints, Lausanne, 1970, no. 10, p. 220 (illustrated in b/w)Mary Lee Corlett, The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1948–1993, 2nd ed., New York and Washington, D.C., 2002, no. 38
Andrea Theil and Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné, New York, lichtensteincatalogue.org, no. 1132
195,000
Roy Lichtenstein’s Reverie (1965) is a landmark screenprint that exemplifies the artist’s transformation of comic book imagery into high art. Published as part of the influential 11 Pop Artists portfolio, this work comes from an edition of 200, with this impression numbered 121/200. In addition, approximately 50 Roman numeral proofs and a small number of artist’s proofs were also issued. The portfolio, which brought together emerging figures such as Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Tom Wesselmann, played a pivotal role in cementing Pop Art’s place within the contemporary art canon.
Reverie depicts a pensive, stylized heroine rendered in Lichtenstein’s hallmark Ben-Day dots, bold outlines, and primary colors, capturing both the melodrama and restraint of comic-book narrative. The title recalls the nostalgic 1927 song Stardust by Hoagie Carmichael, specifically the line “The melody haunts my reverie,” underscoring the nostalgic mood conveyed in the sitter’s far-off gaze. Lichtenstein himself considered his contributions to 11 Pop Artists his first true fine-art prints, the culmination of years mastering multiple printmaking techniques, from etching to screenprinting.
Impressions from this edition are now held in major public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, affirming its historical and artistic importance.
Reverie depicts a pensive, stylized heroine rendered in Lichtenstein’s hallmark Ben-Day dots, bold outlines, and primary colors, capturing both the melodrama and restraint of comic-book narrative. The title recalls the nostalgic 1927 song Stardust by Hoagie Carmichael, specifically the line “The melody haunts my reverie,” underscoring the nostalgic mood conveyed in the sitter’s far-off gaze. Lichtenstein himself considered his contributions to 11 Pop Artists his first true fine-art prints, the culmination of years mastering multiple printmaking techniques, from etching to screenprinting.
Impressions from this edition are now held in major public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, affirming its historical and artistic importance.