From the Beginning

The Colby Museum of Art features the first comprehensive exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein’s early career in a virtual exhibition

Roy Lichtenstein: History in the Making, 1948–1960 at Colby College Museum of Art

The much-anticipated Roy Lichtenstein: History in the Making, 1948-1960, is a collection of early work by the one of the most iconic American artists. While Lichtenstein is more famously known for his pop-themed, Ben Day dot paintings, his early career has often been overlooked.the exhibition, held virtually at the Colby College Museum of Art, tracks Lichtenstein’s progression through a collection of more than 90 drawings, sculpture, prints and paintings, and provides insight into post-war American history.

The exhibition was first initiated by a rare, early piece of Lichtenstein’s titled Cowboy (Red), owned by the Colby College Museum. It inspired the idea for the show, which led to a partnership between Nasher Museum of Art curator Marshall Price and Beth Finch, the curator for the Colby. Together, they explore Lichtenstein’s work from 1948 to 1960, and its commentary on American society.

“The exhibition begins with an amazing group of pastels that Lichtenstein created as part of his master’s thesis at Ohio State University,” says Finch. “One of the interesting pieces of his story is that Lichtenstein was born and raised in Newyork City but chose to study art in Columbus. For someone who wanted to be a modern artist, this was a reverse migration.the context of the Midwest was important to the artist he became.”

Finch discusses how Ohio was a grounding place for Lichtenstein’s early career and provided him with a new vantage point on mainstream America. As an undergraduate, Lichtenstein studied with professor Hoyt L. Sherman, who introduced a technique called

“flash lab,” where students learned how to draw a subject in a dark room after seeing it illuminated only briefly with a flash of light. “It influenced how Lichtenstein thought about how to compose an artwork,” Finch says. “The pastels are wonderful and magical, and while different than the later pop works, they have the same clarity of

composition.”

The Colby Museum is committed to new research on American art outside of established narratives. “[Lichtenstein’s] story is often told starting from 1961, when he had his big break, and erases a whole chapter of his creative life when he was making many works in series, looking at folk art and at art history,” Finch explains. “Aspects of his work as an emerging artist remained relevant to his later pop works. The exhibition includes museum and private collection loans. Some of the works we are borrowing for the project were inherited by

descendants of Lichtenstein’s friends in his early life. It felt like an untold story that we could bring out into the light.” The exhibition will feature a group of drawings made in the late 1950s, around the time the artist was exploring abstraction and making drawings based on cartoon characters. Within this series of work is Mickey Mouse I, a pastel, charcoal, brush and India ink drawing on paper.

“This is a precursor to his pop work,” says Finch. “You can see the emergence of a particular cultural phenomenon and Lichtenstein’s interest in popular culture—not as a break but as a continuum. He was always interested in the vernacular.”

The museum is also excited to bring closely related works back together. Colby’s prized piece Cowboy (Red) will once again be reunited with its counterpart, Cowboy (Blue), owned by the Museum of Modern Art in Los Angeles. Viewers will also get a chance to see Washington Crossing the Delaware I and II, two of the works that showcase Lichtenstein’s fascination with folk art, side by side in the gallery.

“Lichtenstein was always an ambitious, forward-looking artist from the very beginning,” says Finch.the exhibition marks the first comprehensive presentation of Lichtenstein’s early works, perfectly illustrating this vivacious desire and breadth of skill.

The museum is closed to the public, but will have virtual engagement for the show from February 11 to June 6.The show will then travel to the Parrish Art Museum for its public debut.■

Colby College Museum of Art • 5600 Mayflower Hill Drive Waterville, ME 04901 • t: (207) 859-5600 • www.colby.edu/museum

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), The Cowboy, ca. 1951. Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in. Colby College Museum of Art, Gift of David W. Miller, ’51; 1995.019.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Washington Crossing the Delaware II, ca. 1951. Oil on canvas, 241⁄8 x 301⁄8 in. Courtesy of Gabriel Miller. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Variations No. 7, 1959. Oil on canvas, 48 x 60 in. Collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. The Roy Lichtenstein Study Collection; gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, 2019.277. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Mickey Mouse I, ca. 1958. Pastel, charcoal, brush and India ink on paper, 191⁄16 x 25 in. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York. Gift of the Roy and Dorothy Lichtenstein Collection, 2014.38. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Untitled, ca. 1955. Painted canvas, painted scrap wood, wood battens, bolts, screws, string, 26¾ x 139⁄16 x 313⁄16 in. Private Collection. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein.