ROY LICHTENSTEIN Finger Pointing, from the Collection of Ileana Sonnabend and the Estate of Nina Castelli Sundell 1973

This iconic Roy Lichtenstein silkscreen is one of his most recognizable, as it has been reproduced in numerous exhibition catalogues, posters, textbooks and even museum websites, and is frequently cited in writings on Pop Art. It was created in 1973 for the legendary "New York for Stockholm" portfolio. (The portfolio was issued to commemorate the collection of paintings and sculpture by New York artists of the 1960s, assembled by Hultén and Klüver for the Moderna Museet Museum in Stockholm. The roster of artists included forms a who's who's of the New York art world during one of its most influential decades: Lee Bontecou, John Chamberlin, Walter De Maria, Jim Dine,Dan Flavin, Red Grooms, Hans Haacke, Donald Judd, Elsworth Kelly, Sol Lewitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Louise Nevelson, Kenneth Noland, Claes Oldenburg, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, James Rosenquist, George Segal, Richard Serra, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, and others.)  Over the years, this untitled print has been the subject of extensive critical commentary. It is interpreted as a parody of the iconic WWI Army recruitment poster in which Uncle Sam points his finger and says, "I Want You." Pop Art historians, however, note that Lichtenstein eliminated all patriotic fervor and left only the hand with its pointing finger -- against a blood red colored background. This print captures the zeitgeist of the early Seventies, as it was conceived and created during the Nixon era, when Americans were fatigued and disillusioned by the Vietnam War. Soon after, Nixon would resign as US President, and America would end its involvement in Vietnam. Today,some interpret the work as pointing an accusatory finger at the viewer, rather than as a commentary against the government, assigning a different social meaning to it.  

Other editions of this print are in the permanent collections of major museums and public institutions worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Moderna Museet, the Walker Art Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Dayton Art Institute, the Frost Art Museum,the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Pierpoint Morgan Library, and the Albertina Museum - to name only a few.  Other editions, have been featured in dozens of exhibitions over the past three decades, including most recently,"Figuratively Speaking: A Survey of the Human Form", at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, Las Vegas,and "iCON: Consuming the American Image" at the Johnson Museum of Art. 

Mint condition; never framed. in the original portfolio sleeve on Crane's No. 1 Bond Paper

Catalogue Raisonne: Corlett, Mary Lee. The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein: a catalogue raisonné. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1994, Corlett 126 

Printed by: Styria Studio, New York

Published by Experiments in Art and Technology (Robert Rauschenberg's publishing group)

Unframed and in mint condition; held in the original portfolio sleeve. This will be the first time the work has been removed from the mahogany box that housed the portfolio in the Sonnabend/Castelli collection. Rare especially in fine condition in the original portfolio sleeve with the artist's name in block letters on Crane's No. 1 bond paper - and with such impressive provenance.

SIGNATURE.

Unsigned 

PROVENANCE

Collection of Ileana Sonabend (wife of legendary dealer Leo Castelli, and pioneering art dealer in her own right) and the Estate of their daughter Nina Castelli Sundell. 

EXHIBITION HISTORY

Leo Castelli exhibition of New York for Stockholm Portfolio to benefit Moderna Museet

Other editions:

Walker Art Center Leo Castelli Gallery Brooklyn Museum Pop Impressions Europe/USA, Museum of Modern Art and dozens of other venues

LITERATURE

Catalogue Raisonne Reference: Corlett, 126