3644 - ROY LICHTENSTEIN

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (1923 New York City 1997) I Love Liberty. 1982. Colour screenprint. 196/250. Signed and dated in pencil lower right: rf Lichtenstein © 82. Image 82.1 × 53.4 cm on Arches 88 wove paper 97.3 × 68.7 cm. Published by the artist and People for the American Way, Washington D.C. Printed by La Paloma, Los Angeles. Provenance: - Private collection, Switzerland. - Auction Koller Zurich, 1 July 2021, lot 3688. - Private collection, France, acquired at the above auction. Exhibited: Corlett, no. 192. Since its unveiling in 1886, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s monumental statue ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’ has stood above New York Harbour. A gift from France to the United States, it embodies the bond between the two nations as well as the ideals of freedom and independence. Its raised torch represents the light of the Enlightenment; the broken chains at its feet symbolise liberation from oppression, while the tabula ansata in its left hand bears the date of the American Declaration of Independence. For millions of immigrants arriving in the United States via nearby Ellis Island, it became a symbol of hope for a new life. By the time Roy Lichtenstein took up the Statue of Liberty in his 1982 colour screenprint ‘I Love Liberty’, countless reproductions in photographs, posters, stamps and souvenirs had made it one of the most recognisable images in the Western world and an omnipresent feature of American popular culture. Lichtenstein’s print was created in connection with the initiative of the same name, which marked the 250th anniversary of George Washington’s birth with a televised event featuring prominent participants to champion democratic values and civil liberties. Beyond its overtly patriotic message, the subject also raises questions about the meaning of freedom, national identity and democratic values – issues as pertinent amid the social tensions of the early 1980s as they remain today. Lichtenstein skilfully combines the symbolic force of the original with the visual directness of Pop Art. Through deliberately tight framing, he reduces the familiar monument to striking outlines and a restrained palette. Diagonal blue-and-white stripes lend the composition dynamism and, together with the points of the radiating crown, subtly evoke the American flag. The surviving preparatory collage reveals just how carefully Lichtenstein developed this seemingly effortless, almost paper-cut design. Working with individually cut and hand-arranged paper shapes, the artist devised a composition whose clarity appears entirely natural in the finished screenprint. ‘I Love Liberty’ acquired particular historical resonance in 2026, when the work was included in the National Gallery of Art exhibition ‘Dear America: Artists Explore the American Experience’ to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. Originally created for the 250th anniversary of George Washington’s birth, the image thus meets another American anniversary and has itself become part of the visual history that Lichtenstein explored in his work. * The full tax is charged on this item marked *, i.e. VAT is charged on the sum will be refunded to Purchasers providing a validly stamped export declaration.