Roy Lichtenstein: In this article, you would know everything about Roy Lichtenstein– From his childhood to death– Life, paintings, contribution, death- Easy explanation.
Roy Lichtenstein Biography
Early life and beginnings
Mr Roy Lichtenstein was not from well to do family. His father, Mr.Milten was a real estate broker who used to spend his most time far from Roy Lichtenstein, his mother Beatrice was a homemaker.
He attended public school on the Upper West Side (Area between Hudson River and Central Park), after finishing his initial schooling, he then went to Dwight School that was located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
At that time this institution used to give degree in International Baccalaureate Curriculum.
Roy Lichtenstein graduated from there in the year 1940. During this curriculum, he adopted making drawing and participating in art related ceremony as a hobby.
He used to participate in these kinds of activities (Drawing competitions, pop art movement etc.) during this college. In his one magazine’s interview, he had expressed keenness for pop music.
Because Roy Lichtenstein was an avid jazz (music genre) fan, that’s why, in his works(paintings, depictions) we see a deep relation between before pop art and pop music.
In last year of schooling, he joined summer classes in Arts Students League that was also situated in New York, Roy Lichenstein met with Reginald Marsh, and he worked under his supervision.
Reginald Marsh was an American painter, and he guided Mr Roy Lichtenstein in his initial paintings and depictions.
In Art Students League of New York, this artist worked under the tutelage of Reginald Marsh for several years.
Personal life
Roy Lichtenstein married with Isabel Wilson in 1949. Isabel Wilson was the wife of Michael Sarisky who was also an artist. But due to some misunderstanding, Lichtenstein divorced Isabel Wilson and married to another woman Dorothy Herzka.
But Roy Lichtenstein had spent nice days with his first wife- When he began teaching at the State University of New York (It’s a public college in the city Oswego), then they sold their family home and due household dispute they divorced each other in 1965.
Then he married his second wife (Dorothy Herzka) in 1968. In 1966, they rented a house that was situated in Southampton (Town located in the southeastern Suffolk country).
Larry Rivers (An American artist) had also bought home nearby their (Roy Lichtenstein & Dorothy Herzka) home.
But due to personal reasons, they left this home and shifted to another home that was situated at Gin Lane.
Roy Lichtenstein also had a home in Captiva Island(Florida). After 1970 to till death, Roy Lichtenstein spent his life in Southampton and Manhattan.
Pneumonia was the cause of his death. Roy Lichtenstein died in 1997 at New York University Medical Center. He had been hospitalised here for several weeks, but due to severe lung infection, we lost this artist.
Both wives of Roy Lichtenstein:
- Isabel Wilson (1949–1965)- (Divorced- 2 children)
- Dorothy Herzka (1968–1997)- (Till his death)
Rise to prominence
Roy Lichtenstein started teaching at Rutgers University which was situated in New Jersey.
It was the higher institution in New Jersey; this artist met with Allan Kaprow, who was an American artist (painter) and the pioneer in introducing the concepts of performance (At secondary level) art.
He helped Roy Lichtenstein in the working of his initial paintings.
They both were a professor there. Here this artist adopted an interest in Proto-pop imagery. In 1961, he stepped in the advertisement industry as a commercial painter (Illustrator). His many paintings came during this phase such as Engagement Ring in 1961; I Can See the Whole Room…and There’s Nobody in It! In 1961, Roto-Broil in 1961, Mr Bellamy in 1961, Girl with Ball in 1961, Look Mickey in 1961 etc.
Roy Lichtenstein had made his first pop painting using parody style and cartoon images- Thus for the first time, Pop art had been seen as the pillar of the advertisement industry and capitalistic hub.
He continued his career as a commercial illustrator till 1965. During this time, he included the use of increased consumerism advertising imagery and homemaking.
Look Mickey of 1961 was the painting of Roy Lichtenstein wherein he had featured the Ben-Day dots and hard-edged figures. National Gallary of Art(Washington, D.C) has still featured this painting (Look Mickey).
