Roy Lichtenstein, one of the most famous and influential artists of the 20th century.
Roy Lichtenstein experimented with different artistic styles throughout his career, but it was his vibrant Pop Art paintings based on comic strips which really captured the world’s attention and brought him fame and reputation. These now-iconic images were created using Ben-Day dots to mimic crude newspaper prints, and they tended to be shrewd, witty social commentaries edged with deadpan, subversive humour.
The images secured Roy Lichtenstein’s place as a leading figure in the Pop Art movement, and as one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. This is confirmed by the enduring popularity of the artist’s prints; they account for almost 90% of Lichtenstein’s work sold at auction, and the most sought after are his pop art, cartoon-style images. The majority of Lichtenstein prints sell for somewhere in the region of £1,000 to £5,000, though a significant number fetch up to £50,000, and they’ve been known to enter seven figures.
Below is a list of the six most sought-after Roy Lichtenstein prints. If you own a Lichtenstein print and would like to know more about what it might be worth, and how to sell it, contact Mark Littler today.
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Vicki! I — I Thought I Heard Your Voice
This print is a wonderful example of Lichtenstein’s ability to convey the drama and tension of a scene without giving the viewer any context to the story. Here, we are left hanging, unsure of who the faceless man is, and whether the almond-eyed heroine is pleased to see him or not. There are enough nuances in the print and text for the viewer to wonder about the nature of the characters’ relationship, and to imagine a host of possibilities about what might happen next.
The print was created in 1964, at the height of Lichtenstein’s fame, and it was sold by Sotheby’s in March 2019 for a staggering £4,928,500. Lichtenstein’s characteristic use of Ben-Day dots, vivid colours, and bold outlines are all nods towards the comic strips that inspired his most celebrated work, as is the speech bubble that provides the title of the print.
Vicki! I — I Thought I Heard Your Voice Sold by Sotheby’s in 2019
Girl In Mirror
This 1964 print was sold for £4,446,500 in March 2019 by Phillips. It is one of the most popular Lichtenstein prints on today’s market, accounting for five out of the eight most expensive of the artist’s prints ever sold at auction.
Once again, the print depicts the conventionally desirable blonde heroine often found in comic strips. Her smiling face stares back at the viewer via the reflection in her mirror, which takes up a large section of the frame and hints at the artificiality of what we are seeing. This preoccupation with mirrors, artificiality, and how people see and interpret the same thing in different ways surfaces time and again throughout Lichtenstein’s art, usually to great effect.
Girl in Mirror Sold by Phillips’s in 2019
Water Lily Pond With Reflections
Dating from just five years before Roy Lichtenstein’s death, this 1992 screenprint was sold by Sotheby’s in May 2023 for £1,203,15, a huge increase on its £240,631 to £320,841 estimate.
It is part of the Water Lilies series which pays homage to the French Impressionist, Claude Monet. Though Lichtenstein was frequently denigrated by critics for his ‘low-culture’ source material when he first shifted into Pop Art, much of his work was also inspired by highly influential and respected painters from past generations, including Picasso and Cézanne. In some cases, he even reproduced paintings in his own style; the same year as Water Lily Pond With Reflections, for instance, he replicated Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles using the vibrant colours, patterns, and hard, straight lines that are associated with Pop Art.
Water Lily Pond with Reflections Sold by Sotheby’s in 2023
Nude With Blue Hair, From Nude Series
Lichtenstein’s comic book heroine returns in this 1994 print, which was sold by Sotheby’s in April 2023 for £481,830. Nude figures only really make an appearance in Lichtenstein’s later work, with the artist stating: “I don’t really know why I chose nudes. I’d never done them before, so that was maybe something, but I also felt chiaroscuro would look good on a body.”
Chiaroscuro – the strong contrast between light and shadow – is achieved with great effect in this image through Lichtenstein’s clever use of Ben-Day dots. The gradation of shadows adds a more realistic dimension to Lichtenstein’s image, whilst still playing with the Pop Art style he is so famous for.
Nude With Blue Hair, From Nude Series Sold by Sotheby’s in 2023
Brushstroke Still Life With Lamp
This serigraph was created in 1997, and it is among the last pieces Lichtenstein produced before his death in the September of the same year; the other two images from the series (Still Life with Coffee Pot and Still Life with Box) were never finished. This particular print was sold for £470,000 by Christie’s in October 2006.
Lichtenstein was always fascinated by brushstrokes and their significance in the artistic tradition; in the mid 1960s, for instance, he produced the Brushstrokes series, a subversive take on abstract expressionism that was inspired by the image of a brushstroke in a comic strip. Lichtenstein stated that “a picture of a brush stroke” had a “built-in absurdity” that appealed to him. It was a motif that featured prominently in his work from then on, and he even did a series of sculptural renditions along the same lines.
Brushstroke Still Life With Lamp Sold by Christie’s in 2006
Modern Room (Study)
Lichtenstein’s fascination with commercial pop culture again proved to be a source of inspiration for this unique 1996 print, which was sold by Sotheby’s in October 2019 for £450,000. It is part of the Interior series, which began at the start of the 1990s and continued until the artist’s death in 1997. The images in the series are devoid of humans, and they represent the generic, pristine interiors advertised in magazines and on billboards.
As well as parodying the advertising world’s attempt to promote the dream home, there is a subtle nod towards pop art and pop culture in this print: Andy Warhol’s iconic image of Mao Zedong hangs on one of the walls. It is a perfect example of the subversive mélange of politics, mass culture, art, and appropriation that characterise Lichtenstein’s daring and extraordinary work.
Modern Room (Study) Sold by Sotheby’s in 2019
