''In the Car'' (sometimes ''Driving'') is a 1963
pop art painting by
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...
. The smaller, older of the two versions of this painting formerly held the record for highest auction price for a Lichtenstein painting. The larger version has been in the collection of the
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is part of the National Galleries of Scotland, which are based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The National Gallery of Modern Art houses the collection of modern and contemporary art dating from about 1900 to th ...
in Edinburgh since 1980.
Background
The painting is based on a panel illustrated by
Tony Abruzzo
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
in the
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series ''
Girls' Romances
''Girls' Romances'' was a romance comic anthology published by DC Comics in the United States. Debuting with a Feb.,/Mar. 1950 cover-date, it ran for 160 issues, ending with the Oct. 1971 issue (the final issue came out on October 3, 1971, and s ...
'' #78, dated September 1961 and published by
Signal Publishing Corp. (the romance comic imprint of
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
). The painting was part of Lichtenstein's second solo exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery from September 28 to October 24, 1963 that included ''
Drowning Girl'', ''
Torpedo...Los!'', ''
Baseball Manager
''Baseball Manager'' is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. The magna on canvas measures 68 x 56 inches. The painting is visible at Marlins Park
LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is t ...
'', ''
Conversation
Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
'', and ''
Whaam!
''Whaam!'' is a 1963 diptych painting by the American artist Roy Lichtenstein. It is one of the best-known works of pop art, and among Lichtenstein's most important paintings. ''Whaam!'' was first exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New ...
''
Marketing materials for the show included the
lithograph
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
artwork, ''
Crak!
''Crak!'' (sometimes ''Crack!'') is a 1963 pop art lithograph by Roy Lichtenstein in his comic book style of using Ben-Day dots and a text balloon. It was used in marketing materials for one of Lichtenstein's early shows. It is one of several ...
''
The smaller version, which was the original version, from the estate of Roy Lichtenstein and consigned by his son
Mitchell Lichtenstein
Mitchell Wilson Lichtenstein (born March 10, 1956) is an American actor, writer, producer and director.
Early life and education
The son of Isabel (née Wilson) and Roy Lichtenstein, he studied acting at Bennington College in Vermont. His fat ...
, was sold in 2005.
On November 8, 2005, it surpassed the previous Lichtenstein work record auction price of $7.1 million set when ''
Happy Tears'' sold three years earlier (November 13, 2002). ''In the Car'' sold for $16.2 million at
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
auction house in New York City.
In November 2010, this figure was surpassed when ''
Ohhh...Alright...'' was sold for a record US $42.6 million (£26.7 million), also at Christie's in New York. The
hammer price
In auctions, the buyer's premium is a charge in addition to the hammer price (i.e. the winning bid announced) of an auction item, or lot. The winning bidder is required to pay both the hammer price and the percentage of that price called for by th ...
was $38 million.
Details
After 1972, Lichtenstein's comics-based women "look hard, crisp, brittle, and uniformly modish in appearance, as if they all came out of the same pot of makeup." This particular example is one of several that is cropped so closely that the hair flows beyond the edges of the canvas. As with most of his early romance comics, this consisted of "a boy and a girl" subject. It is described as a tense, melodramatic graphic single-frame depiction of a romantic dialogue between a man and woman.
[ Lichtenstein used horizontal parallel lines to convey the sense of motion. A November 1963 ''Art Magazine'' review stated that this was one of the "broad and powerful paintings" of the 1963 exhibition at Castelli's Gallery.]
See also
* 1963 in art
Events from the year 1963 in art.
Events
* January 8 – Leonardo da Vinci's ''Mona Lisa'' is exhibited in the United States for the first (and only) time, for a period of four weeks, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. During thi ...
Notes
References
*.
*.
*.
External links
Lichtenstein Foundation website
*http://www.christies.com/presscenter/pdf/11092005/11092005c.pdf Christie's auction results]
Christies video presentationNational Galleries Scotland website
{{Roy Lichtenstein
1963 paintings
Paintings by Roy Lichtenstein
Paintings in the National Galleries of Scotland