Updated: July 1, 2005

LICHTENSTEIN FAMILY DONATES 13 DRAWINGS
TO NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
IN MEMORY OF ART COLLECTOR JANE MEYERHOFF;
Drawings on View in East Building
April 23 – July 4, 2005

Roy Lichtenstein
Study for “Razzmatazz,” 1978
graphite and colored pencils on tracing paper
482 x 613 cm (19 x 24 1/8 inches)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Dorothy Lichtenstein and David and Mitchell Lichtenstein in memory of Jane B. Meyerhoff

Washington, DC –Roy Lichtenstein’s widow and sons, Dorothy, David and Mitchell, and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation have donated to the National Gallery of Art thirteen drawings that are directly related to eleven of the artist’s paintings in the Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection. The gift was made in memory of Jane Meyerhoff, who died October 16, 2004, and who, with her husband, in 1987 promised their entire collection of late 20th-century art to the National Gallery of Art. The drawings, which have been rarely exhibited, will be on view in the East Building Study Center gallery from April 23 through July 4, 2005. The painting Entablature (1975), which is related to one of the drawings, is also on view next to Lichtenstein’s Painting with Statue of Liberty (1983), in the East Building West Terrace galleries through the summer.

"This is a remarkably generous gift from the Lichtenstein family and Foundation to the Gallery and an especially thoughtful tribute to Jane Meyerhoff, who was renowned for her philanthropy and love of modern art," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "Each of the drawings is splendid in its own way. No other museum has so many Lichtenstein drawings directly related to his paintings in its collection."

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), one of the most recognizable American artists of the late 20th century, emerged as a leading practitioner of pop art in the early 1960s and went on to use his signature style to explore a variety of subjects—including still life, explosions, and brushstrokes—and art movements, such as cubism, surrealism, and expressionism. His works are in major private and public collections throughout the world. With the addition of the gift of 13 drawings, the National Gallery of Art currently owns four paintings, 20 drawings, 320 prints, eight sculptures, and one volume by Lichtenstein.

The drawings span two decades, ranging in date from 1973 to 1992. They include a triptych from 1974 in which Lichtenstein progressively reworked the rudimentary image of a cow in a landscape. Along with parodying the De Stijl artist Theo van Doesburg’s non-objective painting Cow (1917), Lichtenstein also made reference to Pablo Picasso’s reductive treatment of a bull in a famous set of lithographs from 1945. In two 1978 studies for Razzmatazz, among the most dazzling and complex drawings in the gift, Lichtenstein fused such disparate elements as a surrealist abstract form, a conventional folding chair, and a seemingly disembodied jacket. His 1992 Study for “Bedroom at Arles" is a highly inventive and witty interpretation of Vincent van Gogh’s famous 1888 painting with the same name. Lichtenstein selectively modernized the rustic interior with industrial-style furnishings.

The other drawings are studies for Fragmented Painting of Lemons and a Melon on a Table (1973), Entablature (1975), Girl with Beach Ball III (1976), Expressionist Head (1980), Mountain Village (1985), and Reflections: Nurse (1988).

Lichtenstein’s reliance on drawing was crucial to his style. It was also the means by which he conceived and carried out his paintings. Using an opaque projector, he would cast an enlarged image of a drawing onto canvas, and that projected image would serve as the painting’s launching point. The drawings are considerably smaller than the paintings to which they are related. For example, the Study for “Mountain Village" is 7 7/16 by 10 3/8 inches, while the painting is 108 by 156 inches.

For nearly 50 years, Robert and Jane Meyerhoff amassed one of the world’s most outstanding collections of postwar art, primarily American, including an unsurpassed collection of works by the modern masters Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Brice Marden. Through the years their gifts to the National Gallery of Art have transformed the shape of the Gallery’s postwar collection. The Meyerhoffs, who had personal ties with many of the artists represented in their collection, met Roy and Dorothy Lichtenstein in the mid-1970s. The two couples became close friends, often spending summer vacations together.

The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation’s Web site provides additional information about the artist and his career (www.lichtensteinfoundation.org). For more information about works by Lichtenstein in the Gallery’s collection, visit www.nga.gov.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

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phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

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LICHTENSTEIN FAMILY DONATES 13 DRAWINGS TO NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART IN MEMORY OF ART COLLECTOR JANE MEYERHOFF; Drawings on View in East Building April 23 – July 4, 2005

LICHTENSTEIN FAMILY DONATES 13 DRAWINGS
TO NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
IN MEMORY OF ART COLLECTOR JANE MEYERHOFF;
Drawings on View in East Building
April 23 – July 4, 2005