Lichtenstein's celebratory and patriotic Bicentennial Print was a result of nationwide anticipation for a monumential American occasion: the United States' 200th birthday on July 4, 1975. One of 13 works included in the America: The Third Century portfolio commissioned by Mobil Oil, Bicentennial Print presents an image of Lichtenstein’s United States comprised of puzzle pieces that evoke pillars of American society and identity: industrialism, technology, and architecture. To him, Pop art and industrialism were undeniably linked, and America sat at its apex.
“Everybody has called Pop art ‘American’ painting, but it’s actually industrial painting. America was hit by industrialism and capitalism harder and sooner, and its values seem more askew. I think the meaning of my work is that it’s industrial, it’s what all the world will soon become.”
—Roy LichtensteinLichtenstein captures rotating gears, pulsating light, a steal beam, and fragments of a waving banner nestled in a grid-like windowpanes in his iconic primary palette. Other notable artists who contributed to the America: The Third Century portfolio are Robert Rauschenberg, Christo, Ed Ruscha, and James Rosenquist: Each artist was selected for their importance to contemporary American art. The portfolio represented the strength and breadth of art-making in the United States 200 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, affirming itself as a dominate force in the art world.
There were no national bicentennial festivities, rather the federal government matched funds of local organizations and communities who wanted to produce their own events, like fairs, extravogent fireworks displays, and tours of American memorabilia. Everyone, from small-town companies to mega-corporations, participated: Even the iconic metal rock band Kiss released a bicentennial-themed poster for their 1975 tour. Journalist David Lowenthal described the festivities as “a protracted exercise in nostalgia,”i offering an opportunity to overlook the current state of the country. Though the 1970s in the US was rife with social discord with the end of the Vietnam War, sky-rocketing inflation, and continuous struggles for civil rights, the arrival of nationalistic celebrations allowed America to immerse themselves in an imagined utopia of unadulterated freedom and patriotism. This sense of selective memory is evident in Bicentennial Print; Lichtenstein broken images allow him to reveal only the best of American industry.
Bicentennial Celebration, 1976. Image: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Neg. no. 76-8330-05 Dallas-based Mobil Oil commissioned the portfolio in 1975 to coincide with these localized celebrations, with profits from the sale of the America: The Third Century portfolio going to each artist’s charities of choice. To receive his portion of the profits, Lichtenstein chose the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Change, Inc., a charity founded by Rauschenberg to support emerging artists with emergency services. The portfolio was never originally offered for purchase to the public. It was only available to museums and collectors through private gallery sales. The fine art prints were however, reproduced as posters to spread more widely across the country.
Bicentennial Print was Lichtenstein’s first explicitly patriotic print, but not his last. He created I Love Liberty in 1982 in conjunction with the I Love Liberty celebration, a two-hour special dedicated to diverse facets of American broadcast on national television. Ten years later in 1992 came The Oval Office, executed for the Artists for Freedom of Expressions project. Its sale raised money for the Democratic National Convention and other democratic organizations. With Bicentennial Print, Lichtenstein asserts himself not only as a significant Pop artist, but as one of America’s most important artists of the 20th century.
i David Lowenthal, “The Bicentennial Landscape: A Mirror Held Up to the Past,” Geographical Review, July 1977.
Literature
Mary Lee Corlett 136
154
Bicentennial Print, from America: The Third Century (C. 136)
1975
Lithograph and screenprint in colors, on wove paper, with full margins.
I. 25 x 18 in. (63.5 x 45.7 cm)
S. 30 x 22 1/4 in. (76.2 x 56.5 cm)
Signed, dated and numbered 87/200 in pencil (there were also 25 artist's proofs), published by APC Editions, New York, framed.
Estimate
$15,000 - 25,000
Sold for $19,050
editions@phillips.com
212-940-1220
Editions & Works on Paper
New York Auction 27 June 2024
