Roy Lichtenstein in his Studio by Laurie Lambrecht The Monacelli Press, 128 pages, $40.
Lichtenstein's bold, graphic paintings helped define the pop art movement. The comic strip influenced artwork provided a vehicle for commentary and parody that he made full use of, and his work became as linked to that style as much as Warhol's Campbell Soup Can painting.
The hard-edged paintings he made in the 1950s opened the doors for the patterns and textured work that followed. Lichtenstein continued to explore his linear style until his death in 1997.
Laurie Lambrecht was hired as a studio manager in 1990 and almost immediately began photographing the artist at work. The square format of the Hasselblad she used meshed perfectly with comic strip style framing of his paintings.
There are very few photographs of Lichtenstein at work and this collection of photographs stand as a remarkable record of a leading artist immersed in his studio. The subjects extend far past the canvases he was working on. There are pictures of sketch books, tools, fabrics, comic books, scraps of paper and paint, all viewed in his work environment.
