Cut painted paper, cut painted paper drawn on with marker, cut printed paper, marker, graphite pencil on board
34 1/4 x 16 1/2 in. (87 x 41.9 cm)
Unknown if signed or dated
Classification: collage

Collage

In this catalogue, collage is defined as a work made of paper attachments on board or paper. Most of Lichtenstein's collages are preparatory works for sculptures, prints and paintings and reflect the creative process of adding and removing material.

The sub-group collage (on a print) describes works with cut paper attachments on pre-printed supports, such as print proofs or postcards.

Titles

Collages that lead to a known final work carry the title of that work followed by "(Study)," e.g., RLCR 2739, Mermaid (Study).

Titles of collages with no or unknown related final works were assigned following the methodology described in 6. TITLES.

Dates

Collages not dated by the artist have usually been assigned the date noted on the related RL Studio Cards (located in RLF Archives), unless research suggests a different date or date range. The artist wrote specific dates on the recto of a small group of collages, e.g., RLCR 2963, Surrealist Head (Study). These dates are likely the dates when a collage was handed over to a maquette builder.

Media Lines

All visible media on the artwork recto is described. Excluded are methods of attachment (e.g., liquid adhesive, pressure-sensitive adhesive film) because they are invisible from the recto. Attachment is implied.

Many collages are marked up by the artist with diagrams, arrows and annotations providing directions for the builder of the related sculpture. These are not transcribed since they can be viewed in the Primary Image.

See also: 11. INSCRIPTIONS

Collage media is described in the following order:

tape (black outlines)

cut painted paper (solid shapes)

cut printed paper (patterned and solid shapes)

cut paper (blank paper)

acrylic (if painted directly on board)

marker (black outlines and other)

colored pencil

graphite pencil

other

Media is followed by support, usually "on board" or "on paper." Most collages are on white museum board. Where multiple adjacent supports were used, the number of boards or sheets is given and it is indicated if they are joined. Secondary supports are only included when considered to be original.

Collage elements sometimes overlap and may be adhered to each other rather than just the support. In this catalogue, we simply write "on board" (or other support), instead of describing the nexus of attachments. The media used for writing marks on collaged elements, as well as on the support, are listed per the order above.

See also: 9. MEDIA AND SUPPORT

The qualifier "cut" describes collage elements as in "cut painted paper."  We indicate if forms were torn instead of cut.

Cut painted paper stands for any solid-colored painted paper prepared in Lichtenstein's studio, whether matte (e.g., Ultra Blue, Cadmium Red Medium) or metallic (e.g., silver, graphite).

Cut painted paper with sand refers to collage elements for which sand was mixed with the acrylic for textural effect.

Cut stencil-painted paper refers to patterned paper to which dots and diagonals were applied via paint through stencil. According to the artist's studio assistants, cut stencil-painted paper was made with oil paint. We made every effort to distinguish between stencil-painted and printed dots. Brush marks and irregular application can usually be discerned in and around dots during physical examination, but traces of these same irregularities are sometimes confusingly found in printed papers. This challenge, combined with our reliance on examination reports of varying depth, means that readers will sometimes find dots that are stencil-painted, but erroneously listed as printed, and vice versa. 

Cut printed paper includes solid-colored and patterned (dots, diagonals, wood grain) printed paper.   

Cut printed and painted paper stands for collage elements with both printed and painted parts. 

Drawing media on collage elements is given after the attachment.

Dimensions

Entries usually include both board (or sheet) and image dimensions. If a work was overmatted and could not be unframed for examination, the image dimensions are given. RLF Archives material and other sources were consulted for measurements the catalogue team was unable to take in person. Sources are cited in Remarks.

See also: 10. DIMENSIONS

Read more: Guide to the Catalogue
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Catalogue entry

Artwork:
Image cropped
RLCR 3313 (RL 1306)
Mural with Blue Brushstroke (Study)
1984
Title Source
RLF
Alternate titles and sources: Final Study for Mural with Blue Brushstroke (Rose); Mural with Blue Brushstroke (RL Studio Photograph); Mural with Blue Brushstroke (Maquette) (RL Studio Card)
Media
Cut painted paper, cut painted paper drawn on with marker, cut printed paper, marker, graphite pencil on board
Dimensions
34 1/4 x 16 1/2 in. (87 x 41.9 cm)
Inscriptions
Unknown if signed or dated
Examination Notes

Work could not be examined unframed.

Studio
105 East 29th Street, New York
Related Works
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Provenance
Collection of the Equitable Life Assurance Society L.1985.32 [AXA Financial, New York City, 2004]
Research pending
Exhibitions
1987 New York MoMA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Drawings of Roy Lichtenstein, March 15–June 2, 1987 (Rose, Bernice 1987, no. 299 p. 172 color ill. [cropped]); (Kies 1987b). Traveled to: Museum Overholland, Amsterdam, July 17–September 13, 1987 (abridged) (Kies 1987a); Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel, November 9, 1987–January 3, 1988 (Kies 1987a); Douglas Hyde Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin, January 20–February 20, 1988 (abridged) (Kies 1987a); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany, March 12–May 1, 1988 (Rose, Bernice 1988, no. 287 p. 172 color ill. [cropped]); Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, United Kingdom, May 22–July 3, 1988 (Rose, Bernice 1988, no. 287 p. 172 color ill. [cropped]); Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., September 17–November 20, 1988 (Rose, Bernice 1988, no. 287 p. 172 color ill. [cropped]).
2001 North Miami MOCA
Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida, Roy Lichtenstein: Inside/Outside, December 11, 2001–February 24, 2002 (Clearwater 2001, fig. 13 p. 34 color ill. [in progress], no. 26 n.p. color ill. [as Final Study for Mural with Blue Brushstroke]).
2008 Riehen Fondation Beyeler
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland, Fernand Léger: Paris–New York, June 1–September 7, 2008 (Beyeler [Fondation] 2008, no. 129 p. 179 color ill. [as Final Study [Maquette] for Mural with Blue Brushstrokes]).
Literature
Von Arnim 1986
Von Arnim, Gabriele (Photographs by Abe Frajndlich). "Roy Lichtenstein." Translated from the English by Edna McCown. Frankfurter Allgemeine Magazin, February 7, 1986, p. 15 color ill.
Adelman and Tomkins 1987
Adelman, Bob, and Calvin Tomkins. The Art of Roy Lichtenstein: Mural with Blue Brushstroke. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1987, p. 31 color ill., p. 32 color ill., n.p. facing p. 94 (with artist in studio).
Shinoda 1988
Shinoda, Tazmi. "Roy Lichtenstein: On 'Mural with Blue Brushstroke'/ Lichtenstein's Mural: A Purgatory of ‘Merry-Go-Round.'" Mizue (Tokyo), no. 947 (Summer 1988), n.p. color ill. (detail, in progress).
Ratcliff 1989c
Ratcliff, Carter. "The Work of Roy Lichtenstein in the Age of Walter Benjamin's and Jean Baudrillard's Popularity." Art in America 77, no. 2 (February 1989), p. 117 color ill.
Ríos 1991
Ríos, Julián. "Picasso, pintor y modelo (reflexiones sobre ‘Reflexiones sobre el pintor y su modelo' de Roy Lichtenstein)." El paseante (Madrid), nos. 18–19 (1991), p. 34 color ill.
Hindry 1991a
Hindry, Ann, ed. Artstudio. Special issue, Roy Lichtenstein, no. 20 (Spring 1991), p. 167 color ill. (as Final Study for Mural with Blue Brushstroke).
Gagosian, New York, and Roy Lichtenstein Foundation 2015
Gagosian Gallery, New York, and Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. Roy Lichtenstein: Greene Street Mural. New York: Gagosian Gallery, 2015. Exhibition catalogue (2015 New York Gagosian), fig. 31 p. 155 color ill. [not exhibited].
Entry Updated November 2, 2023