Born in Manhattan in 1923, Roy Lichtenstein grew to prominence in the 1960s as one of the progenitors of the Pop art movement. Before creating his comic-strip inspired paintings, Lichtenstein studied at the Art Students League in New York under American Realist artist Reginald Marsh, and later, after serving in World War II, he attended Ohio State where he studied art under the GI Bill. In the early 1960s, he initiated his Pop paintings, including Whaam! and Drowning Girl, both from 1963. These are characterized by painted Benday dots, which mimic commercial printing.
Later in the 1960s and throughout his career, Lichtenstein experimented in a number of styles, including reproducing masterpieces by the likes of Picasso and Mondrian. In 1970, at the height of his success, the artist moved to Southampton on the east end of Long Island, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life, until his death in 1997 at the age of 73.
Paintings by Lichtenstein are included in museum collections around the world with notable holdings at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, and Museum Ludwig, Cologne. For those collecting Lichtenstein, the market is strong. According to Sotheby’s Mei Moses, the average compound annual return for Roy Lichtenstein resold at auction between 2003 and 2017 was 9.1%. 80.3% of 71 such works increased in value.