Roy Lichtenstein’s artistic evolution to be featured in the Columbus Museum of Art

Roy Lichtenstein, Mechanism, Cross Section, c. 1954. Oil with sgraffito on canvas, 40 x 54 inches (101.6 x 137.2 cm). Collection of the Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan. Gift of Messrs. Samuel N. Tomkin and Sidney Freedman, FIA 1956.2. Credit: Courtesy of estate of Roy Lichtenstein

“Roy Lichtenstein: History in the Making, 1948-1960” explores the early work of an artist who was influenced by his time in Columbus and at Ohio State. 

The Columbus Museum of Art will host the exhibition honoring the Ohio State alumnus Friday through June 5. The exhibition aims to educate its audience about Lichtenstein and his formative years before eventually becoming one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Tyler Cann, acting chief curator, director of exhibitions and Pizzuti family curator of contemporary art for the Columbus Museum of Art, said.

“Roy Lichtenstein is certainly one of the best-known artists — American artists — of the 20th century and, perhaps, most especially, for his association with pop art and the incorporation of comic book imagery, and also a kind of semblance of technique of printing into painting in the 1960s,” Cann said.  “That is not what this exhibition is about. This exhibition will, I think, reveal, for a lot of people, a different side of Lichtenstein’s practice.” 

The exhibition was co-organized by curators at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and the Colby College Museum of Art and has been touring since Feb. 11, 2021, when it first went on display at the Colby College Museum of Art, according to the Nasher Museum of Art website. 

Lichtenstein spent several of his early years as an artist in Columbus and as a studio art professor at Ohio State, and Cann said the show explores the evolution of Lichtenstein’s early work after his return to the U.S. after serving in World War II. 

“This is the story of an ambitious young artist who was experimenting with painting, finding his own way through a kind of series of styles, but also subjects,” Cann said. “So it’s focused, you know, it shows him really looking at broad strokes of American culture.”

Betsy Meacham, spokesperson for the Columbus Museum of Art, said Lichtenstein’s connection to Columbus makes having the exhibition on display at the museum special.

“One of the really exciting things about it, it’s the first major museum exhibition that explores the early works of Roy Lichtenstein,” Meacham said. “And that includes the years he lived in Columbus when he was younger. So, it has a nice local angle.”

Many of the works that will be displayed in the exhibition are lesser known because they were done earlier in his career, Cann said. Lichtenstein’s early work, in general, ranges in subject matter from significant figures in American popular culture — such as Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse — to a short abstract phase from 1959-60, according to the Columbus Museum of Art’s website.

“It’s difficult to sort of highlight for single work,” Cann said. “You know, it’s really a, kind of, sum total of the exhibition that I think is really the standout significant element of this.” 

Meacham said this show is unique from others that may feature some of his art because of its specific emphasis on the artist’s formative years.

“This really demonstrates the inventiveness of Lichtenstein — it’ll be interesting to see how his work evolved throughout his years,” Meacham said. “You know, he’s known for a very particular style very broadly, but this will be some new works that, a lot of them haven’t even been seen on public view before.”

The Columbus Museum of Art is located at 480 E. Broad St. Members of the museum will have the opportunity to attend an early preview of the exhibition Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the museum’s website.

Tickets to the museum are $9 for students and $18 for adults, and admission to “Roy Lichtenstein: History in the Making, 1948-1960,” is an additional $7. General admission to the museum on Sundays is free, but the entrance fee for the exhibition will still be $7. On Thursday nights after 5 p.m., the museum has a deal for $5 general admission and $5 admission to the special exhibition.