“The Whitney Museum of American Art’s current exhibition Roy Lichtenstein: 1997 examines the final year of the artist’s life and work. Already an established painter and Pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997) continued to develop his studio practice at age 73, pursuing ambitious projects, including two mural commissions, several large-scale sculptures, and a new series of prints. The exhibition highlights a period of sustained innovation for Lichtenstein as he expanded his visual vocabulary while continuing to engage with many of the themes and image references that shaped his career. Bringing together studies, prints, models, and other ephemera, many from the Whitney’s collection, Roy Lichtenstein: 1997 offers a focused look at his experimentation and ongoing interest in new technologies and their effects on image making. On view on the Museum’s 3rd floor through June 1, 2027, this exhibition is presented in conjunction with Roy Lichtenstein: Like New, a major exhibition opening at the Whitney on October 11″.— Whitney Museum of American Art

“Though still recognizably his own, these works attest to Lichtenstein’s remarkable openness even five decades into his career—open not only to developments in art and technology, but to new techniques and approaches in his own working process,” said co-organizer David Crane, Curatorial Research Associate at the Whitney Museum. “Because many of the works on view remain unrealized or unfinished, they provide a rare glimpse into the artist’s hand at work.”

“As a way to build off conversations prompted by the 5th floor’s Roy Lichtenstein: Like New exhibition, David and I were drawn to several of the permanent collection’s unfinished prototypes and studies from 1997,” said co-organizer Nakai Falcón, Curatorial Assistant at the Whitney. “Engaging with the late-90s dawn of the internet, Lichtenstein’s final experimental gestures serve as a visionary bridge between the constraints of physical reality and a transcendent future.”

Roy Lichtenstein: Like New is organized by Meg Onli, Nancy and Fred Poses Curator, and Alex Da Corte, Guest Curator, with Nakai Falcón, Curatorial Assistant, and David Crane, Curatorial Research Associate.

Title image: Roy Lichtenstein, Crying Girl, 1963  Offset lithograph: sheet, 17 3/4 × 23 3/4 in. (45.1 × 60.3 cm); image, 17 1/4 × 23 1/8 in. (43.8 x 58.7 cm) Whitney Museum of American Art; New York; The Roy Lichtenstein Study Collection, gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation 2021.135

Images courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art.