1963, pencil signed, from the edition of unknown size, with wide margins, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, publisher. Color offset lithograph on lightweight, off-white wove paper.
image: 17 1/4 x 23 3/16 in. (43.8 x 58.9cm)
sheet: 17 15/16 x 24 in. (45.6 x 61cm)
[Corlett, II.1]
note:
Crying Girl is one of Lichtenstein's earliest Pop Art prints and employs several of the quintessential elements which soon defined his exploration of this new genre. The image of a woman locked in a dramatic moment taken from or inspired by serials, cartoons and the like was one the artist explored repeatedly in the early 1960's, and highlights the often hyper-stylized treatment of women in graphics in that era. The cropped image here necessitates a closer look at the building blocks of print itself -- benday dots - which, set against primary colors, black, and white became the defining visual language of Lichtenstein's work. Crying Girl was created to announce Lichtenstein's exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery which began in September of 1963. Copies without the printed text (such as the present example) were sold and given away during the exhibition, and may be when Bob acquired this important print.