Cover for "Polemic" Magazine

1959 · Print

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Cover for "Polemic" Magazine” now? Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 11 days ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

Details

Accession number: 1996.56.143

What it shows

Non-representational

In the catalog

Prints Woodcut Post-war art 20th century American

Sources

National Gallery of Art
Image: National Gallery of Art — © the artist or rights holder

In the life of Roy Lichtenstein

The whole life

1951–1957
Six years in Cleveland and odd jobs
In 1951 Lichtenstein moved to Cleveland, where he stayed for six years, travelling back to New York often. Between periods of painting he took jobs as varied as draftsman and window decorator, and his work fluctuated between Cubism and Expressionism.
1957
A late conversion to Abstract Expressionism
In 1957 Lichtenstein moved back to upstate New York and began teaching again; it was then that he adopted Abstract Expressionism, as a late convert to the style.
1957–1960
Employed by: State University of New York at Oswego
1960
Rutgers and the influence of Allan Kaprow
In 1960 Lichtenstein began teaching at Rutgers University, where he was heavily influenced by Allan Kaprow, who also taught there. The environment reignited his interest in proto-Pop imagery.
1961
The turn to Pop Art: a challenge from his son
In 1961 Lichtenstein began his first Pop paintings, using cartoon images and techniques derived from commercial printing; the first work to use hard-edged figures and Ben-Day dots on a large scale was “Look Mickey”. The push came from his son, who, as the artist told it, pointed to a Mickey Mouse comic book and doubted that his father could paint as well.
1961
Leo Castelli begins showing his work
In 1961 Leo Castelli began displaying Lichtenstein’s work at his gallery in New York.