Blue Face
Blue Face
Signed Mixed Media
Roy Lichtenstein
£23,000-£35,000
$45,000-$70,000 Value Indicator
$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator
¥210,000-¥320,000 Value Indicator
€28,000-€40,000 Value Indicator
$220,000-$340,000 Value Indicator
¥4,440,000-¥6,750,000 Value Indicator
$29,000-$45,000 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Mixed Media
Edition size: 60
Year: 1989
Size: H 137cm x W 85cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Mixed Media
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sotheby's London | United Kingdom | ||||
| October 2023 | Phillips New York | United States | |||
| April 2021 | Sotheby's New York | United States | |||
| April 2018 | Christie's New York | United States | |||
| October 2003 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
Utilising a wide repertoire of printing methods, Lichtenstein translated the gestural strokes of Abstract Expressionism into a Pop Art idiom in his Brushstroke Faces series of the late 1980s. The artist sought to move away from appropriation in this work and is therefore actively exploiting the abstract qualities of his own visual language. In Blue Face, Lichtenstein reflects on the constructivist power that only a select few brushstrokes can have on the overall composition.
The brush strokes in Blue Face are flattened with the help of an uncharacteristically muted colour palette. The work is freed from a personal narrative, yet is imbued with formal comedy. The same stylistic tendencies can be detected in another work from the series, titled Blonde. As the ascending brushstrokes are intersected by upwards flowing ones, the work is imbued with an almost musical undertone.
The pale grey and light blue strokes, representing the body of the main structure, flow in all directions. The outline of a mouth is marked in mustard yellow, while the dark green and blue smudges above it are indicative of eyes. The origins of the Brushstroke series, which were derived from a comic book source, are alluded to in the one blue dotted patch constituting the face of the figure.
Even in the simple details of Blue Face, there is an inherent criticism directed at the art historical conventions granting authority and inimitability to brushwork.
