Roy Lichtenstein (Manhattan, 1923 –Manhattan, 1997) had a very long and successful career during his lifetime, and is renowned as a modern master in addition to being one of the founding fathers of pop art. He was born and raised in Manhattan; therefore he was introduced to a promising and prosperous art market very early on in his life. Lichtenstein’s earliest influences were derived from the works of Matisse and Picasso. His path as an artist began around abstract expressionist period. In Lichtenstein’s earliest works, he can be seen following the trend of abstract expressionism, but moved on to his signature style in order to convey his own vision of representation. In an interview with Lichtenstein he was quoted saying: “I’d always wanted to know the difference between a mark that was art and one that wasn’t…so l chose among the crudest types of illustration – product packaging, mail order catalogues.” Look Mickey (1961) is one of the very first paintings he completed in his trademark pop art style. It features a comic book style scene of iconographic cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck fishing together. His inclusion of dialogue between subjects in the work would lead to the first of many like it. Typography was very important to Lichtenstein. He often used cliché baby boomer phrases, and emotionally charged discourse in his work that can be seen in other works such as Hopeless (1963) and Drowning Girl (1963).

Within the print of these commercial illustration and comic book clippings that he kept in his composition books, Lichtenstein noticed the individual dots of ink that made up these images. From this, his iconic use of graphic patterns and the benday dot was manifested. Lichtenstein utilized these benday dots in order to differentiate between texture, color, and value. Lichtenstein initially created these markings by using a dog grooming brush and filling in the surrounding edges. He would go on to use a perforated metal screen, and in the more developed stages custom made stencils in order to quickly mass produce these dots in a factory-like manner.  His studio assistants recall him as compulsive and meticulous when it came to his process, and he had to be so that he would be able to create such graphic and seemingly automated works. His practice was scheduled and organized in such a way that allowed him to be so lucrative. He was galvanized to work with a wide variety of materials due to his affinity for lustrous and smooth metallic surfaces. Lichtenstein was inspired by metal used for automobiles, enamel paints, and mirrors. Girl in Mirror (1964) exists as one of his earliest examples of experimenting with material, as it was painted on a sheet of steel with porcelain enamel. This appeal originated from his artistic development that occurred in the wake of World War II where there was a substantial increase of industrial mass production during the war and after in Post-War America. The themes of war and industrialization would become more transparent in other works such as Preparedness (1968) and Whaam! (1963). Two decades after his death, the work of Roy Lichtenstein will continue to live on as the principle of industrialization in his practice and career remains relevant to society.