Roy Lichtenstein - Editions & Works on Paper New York Tuesday, October 24, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Inspired by the architecture of Lower Manhattan, and the grand, neo-classical facades of Wall Street’s buildings, Roy Lichtenstein’s Entablature series is named after the term describing the superstructure of moldings resting atop columns. First explored in two series of paintings executed from 1971-1976, this series of eleven prints marks the capstone of this thematic exploration.  Moving beyond the appropriation of comic strips and advertisements he is so known for, Roy Lichtenstein looked to a different source of inspiration. Reflecting upon hierarchies of taste, the Entablatures subvert the assumed power of Classical motifs, his appropriation in dialogue with the mass-imitation of Greco-Roman forms found throughout the American urban landscape.

     

    To assemble the patterned compositions, Lichtenstein studied examples from architectural journals and shot photographs of New York City as source material, creating collages for each print in the series to serve as the basis for the screens and plates.  Translating this machine made, three-dimensional architecture onto a paper surface, Lichtenstein foregrounds geometric pattern, texture, and abstraction. The layering of innovative printmaking techniques, including screen-printing, lithography, and stencils, invoke the rich ornamentation and stacked patterning of the original reliefs. Further, playing with spatial illusion and reflectivity, machine-cut foil elements are incorporated throughout the series, with a plethora of colorful finishes ranging from glossy black to matte silver and pink.

    • Literature

      Tyler Graphics 335
      Mary Lee Corlett 139

302

Entablature II, from Entablature series (T. 335, C. 139)

1976
Screenprint in colors with embossing and collage of gloss copper and mat pink metallic foil, on Rives BFK paper, with full margins.
I. 19 3/4 x 38 in. (50.2 x 96.5 cm)
S. 29 1/8 x 44 7/8 in. (74 x 114 cm)

Signed, dated and numbered 23/30 in pencil (there were also 9 artist's proofs), published by Tyler Graphics, Ltd., Bedford Village, New York (with their blindstamp), framed.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$8,000 - 12,000 

Sold for $11,430

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Editions@phillips.com
212 940 1220
 

Editions & Works on Paper

New York Auction 24-26 October 2023