Variations No. 7

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.