Bicentennial Print
30 1/16 x 22 5/16inchesBicentennial Print
(Corlett 136), 1975
paper: 30 1/16 x 22 5/16 inches
image: 25 x 18 1/16 inches
frame: 35 x 27 3/4 inches
edition of 200 plus 25 AP's, 25 HC's
numbered, signed and dated in pencil "rf Lichtenstein '75"
printed by Styria Studio, New York, with their blindstamp lower right
published by APC Editions, division of Chermayeff & Geismar Associates, Inc., New York (and underwritten by Mobil Oil Corporation)
Provenance
Personal collection of Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Sotheby's Paris, February 18, 2021, Lot 414.
Literature
Corlett, Mary Lee, The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné 1948-1993, New York, 1994, number 136, another impression reproduced in color, page 140.
Kennedy, Christina, Post-War American Art: The Novak/O'Doherty Collection, Dublin: Irish Museum of Modern Art, 2010, Exhibition Catalogue, another impression illustrated in color, page 110.
Fukaya, Katsunori, Birth of Pop Artist Lichtenstein In The World of Roy Lichtenstein's Prints, Nagoya: Nagoya City Art Museum, 2004, another impression illustrated in color, pages 7–10.
Thiel, Andrea, Bicentennial, 1975, RLCR 2425, Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné, New York: Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Exhibition
Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, America: The Third Century, September 7, 1975 – November 8, 1975.
Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan, The World of Roy Lichtenstein's Prints, September 18, 2004 – November 7, 2004.
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland, Post-War American Art: The Novak/O'Doherty Collection, September 8, 2010 – February 27, 2011.
Museum Collections, Other Impressions
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center | Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Irish Museum of Art, Dublin, Ireland
Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Longview, TX
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
Public Art University of Houston System, Houston, TX
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
America: The Third Century Portfolio
The Complete Portfolio, published in 1976, contains 13 original limited edition prints by William Bailey, James Brooks, Christo, Allan D'Arcangelo, Roy Lichtenstein, Costantino Nivola, Robert Andrew Parker, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Edward Ruscha, Raymond Saunders, Ben Schonzeit and Velox Ward. Proceeds from the sale were donated to Change, Inc., and other charitable organizations. Roy Lichtenstein designated Change, Inc., the ACLU, and the New York Civil Liberties Union as recipients. A poster version of Bicentennial was published in a screenprint edition (
Catalogue No. III.26
).
Additional Photos
Full sheet
Image detail
Styria Studio blindstamp lower right
M. Corlett, The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonne
This pristine, signed and dated impression of Roy Lichtenstein’s Bicentennial Print (Corlett 136), 1975, a 7-color lithograph and silkscreen on white wove paper measuring 30 1/16 x 22 5/16 inches (image: 25 x 18 1/16 inches; framed: 35 x 27 3/4 inches), comes directly from the Christo Estate, adding exceptional provenance to an already significant work. Created in an edition of 200 with additional artist’s proofs and hors commerce impressions, each example—including this one—is numbered, signed, and dated in pencil “rf Lichtenstein ’75.”
ROY LICHTENSTEIN BICENTENNIAL
This pristine, signed and dated impression of Roy Lichtenstein’s Bicentennial Print (Corlett 136), 1975, a 7-color lithograph and silkscreen on white wove paper measuring 30 1/16 x 22 5/16 inches (image: 25 x 18 1/16 inches; framed: 35 x 27 3/4 inches), comes directly from the Christo Estate, adding exceptional provenance to an already significant work. Created in an edition of 200 with additional artist’s proofs and hors commerce impressions, each example—including this one—is numbered, signed, and dated in pencil “rf Lichtenstein ’75.” Printed at Styria Studio, New York, whose blindstamp appears at lower right, and published by APC Editions, a division of Chermayeff & Geismar Associates, Inc., with support from Mobil Oil Corporation, the print reflects both Lichtenstein’s technical precision and his engagement with the cultural climate of the American Bicentennial.
Produced at a moment when the nation was reassessing the relationship between idealism, capital, and political power, the project also demonstrated Lichtenstein’s philanthropic commitments; as his studio assistant James DePasquale recalled, proceeds from the edition supported Change, Inc., the ACLU, and the NYCLU. While Lichtenstein had explored Art Deco motifs in earlier works—honoring New York landmarks such as Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall—he sought greater seriousness for the Bicentennial. He incorporated pre-Depression industrial forms, including gear wheels, pulleys, steamship elements, and bridge cables, evoking American ambition and technological optimism. To underscore the gravitas of the moment, he drew on the classical vocabulary of his Entablature series, integrating dentil molding in the upper right and a modified dart-and-egg pattern below—motifs he once jokingly said conferred “fake importance,” yet here serve as a pointed commentary on an American establishment unsettled by the Franklin National Bank collapse, Nixon’s reelection, and the political climate that followed.
With its museum-quality presentation, pristine condition, and distinguished Christo Estate provenance, this is an outstanding example of one of Lichtenstein’s most historically resonant prints—an artwork that crystallizes the artist’s blend of design, critique, and cultural reflection at a pivotal moment in American history.
#RoyLichtenstein Bicentennial Print (Corlett 136) 1975, color screenprint & lithograph fetched $20,312 @Bonhams1793 5/26/2021 even though the impression significantly faded.https://t.co/ihwkQhlinO pic.twitter.com/3IlKNt3bCA
— Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. (@JKLFA) June 1, 2021
