The Sower
The Sower
Signed Mixed Media
Roy Lichtenstein
£40,000-£60,000
$80,000-$110,000 Value Indicator
$70,000-$100,000 Value Indicator
¥350,000-¥520,000 Value Indicator
€45,000-€70,000 Value Indicator
$390,000-$590,000 Value Indicator
¥6,730,000-¥10,100,000 Value Indicator
$50,000-$80,000 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: 1985
Size: H 105cm x W 141cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Mixed Media
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2018 | Christie's New York - United States | The Sower - Signed Mixed Media | |||
| April 2018 | Sotheby's New York - United States | The Sower - Signed Mixed Media | |||
| October 2017 | Christie's New York - United States | The Sower - Signed Mixed Media | |||
| April 2016 | Christie's New York - United States | The Sower - Signed Mixed Media | |||
| October 2011 | Christie's New York - United States | The Sower - Signed Mixed Media | |||
| October 2008 | Christie's New York - United States | The Sower - Signed Mixed Media | |||
| November 2007 | Sotheby's New York - United States | The Sower - Signed Mixed Media |
Meaning & Analysis
Roy Lichtenstein revisited the landscape motif numerous times throughout his career. His vast Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes comprise several individual series of prints. The Sower from 1985 belongs to the painterly Landscapessuites. The print mainly appropriates the formal attributes of landscape painting. However, it also imitates brushstrokes, thereby critiquing the idealised brushwork of the abstract expressionists.
The Sower depicts a figure planting seeds while walking along a field populated by haystacks. The whole scene is composed of explosive pastel-toned and primary coloured brushstrokes. The vivid hand-painted sweeps within this portrait interact energetically with the mechanical aspects of the artist’s own style. Consequently, the layout of the print becomes similarly abstracted as Lichtenstein’s concurrent Brushstroke Faces and Seven Apple Woodcuts.
Although the print presents a panoramic plough land, Lichtenstein only includes the most distilled and poignant details found in a natural setting. His stylised brushstrokes are translated into the conventional language of the landscape genre, making them appear more instinctive. While Lichtenstein’s simulated painterly gestures symbolise nature in motion, the detached cartoon elements produce spatial ambiguities. These strokes seem to have been cut out and pasted on, drawing attention to the surface texture and object quality of the work.
