Name: Sunrise
Brand: Roy Lichtenstein
Rating: 5 (238 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Roy Lichtenstein’s Sunrise (signed) is estimated to be worth between £9,500 and £14,000. Over the past 12 months, the artwork has sold 5 times with an average selling price of £9,353. In the last five years, the hammer price has varied from £5,404 in September 2020 to £22,467 in October 2022. This lithograph print, created in 1965, demonstrates an average annual growth rate of 1%. This work has an impressive auction history, having been sold 63 times since its initial sale in February 2002. The edition size of this artwork is not available.

Meaning & Analysis

Following the acclaim of his first comic-inspired artworks, Roy Lichtenstein immersed himself in the boundless well of art history. The landscape genre was one topic he returned to with regularity. The artist dedicated over thirty years of his career to expanding his Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes. The vast sequence contains numerous individual editions of prints.

Sunrise from 1965 uses Lichtenstein's iconic pop aesthetic to define the pictorial space of an early morning oceanscape. The work combines the elementary attributes of landscape painting with the artist’s interest in unified imagery. Sunrise’s minimalist sun emerges steadily from behind the boldly defined horizon line. The rays are demarcated by pale yellow bands of colour constrained within thick blue borders. The entire backdrop of the print is populated by red, white and blue Ben-Day dots, offering the optical sensation of hazy skies.

The white core of the sun is the focal point of the work, as it sustains the rest of the canvas. Meanwhile, illustrated passages of defined clouds add a sense of solidity to the upper half of the composition. Lichtenstein contrasts the light that radiates from the centre against the shadows folded between the waves. His rendition of a sunrise is a witty, contemporary nod to the motif’s art historical precedents.

Roy Lichtenstein, born in New York, 1923, is a seminal figure in the Pop Art movement, renowned for his comic book and advertisement-inspired artworks. His transformative journey from classical painter to Pop Art pioneer began with his iconic piece, Look Mickey, marking the fusion of painting with pop culture. Lichtenstein’s works, including Whaam!, Drowning Girl, and Crying Girl, blend parody and satire, challenging the boundaries between popular culture and ‘high art’. With over 5,000 pieces to his name, Lichtenstein’s enduring influence resonates in contemporary art, his works celebrated in prestigious institutions worldwide.