Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997)
Road Before the Forest (from the Landscapes series), 1985
Lithograph, woodcut and screenprint in colors on Arches 88 paper
40 × 55 1/4 in. (101.6 × 140.3 cm)
Signed and dated in pencil
Edition of 60 + proofs
Printed and published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles
Corlett 213; Gemini G.E.L. 1255
Framed: approximately 47 × 63 in.
Asking Price: on request
A particularly dynamic example from Roy Lichtenstein’s celebrated Landscapes series, Road Before the Forest combines lithography, woodcut and screenprinting to create a composition that deliberately blurs the distinction between painting and printmaking.
Executed in 1985, the work belongs to a mature period in which Lichtenstein increasingly revisited the conventions of landscape painting through the visual vocabulary he had developed over the preceding decades. Sweeping gestural passages coexist with sharply delineated graphic forms, transforming the traditional landscape into an energetic collision of color, line and movement.
At more than 55 inches wide, Road Before the Forest has exceptional presence for a work on paper. The relatively small edition of only 60 further distinguishes it within Lichtenstein’s graphic oeuvre.
This example is signed and dated in pencil and numbered edition of 60. It was printed and published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, one of the most important American print workshops of the postwar period.
Condition: The work is in good condition and presents well with vibrant colors. There is pale toning primarily at the extreme sheet edges, subtle impressions at the upper corners corresponding with the hinges, a very faint rub to the upper margin near the left corner, a pinpoint surface accretion within the upper-left portion of the image, and a small thin scuff at the lower-right corner. The work is hinged along the upper edge and framed behind acrylic.
