Name: Sunshine Through The Clouds
Brand: Roy Lichtenstein
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

Roy Lichtenstein's Sunshine Through The Clouds, a signed Planographic Print from 1985, is estimated to be worth between £50,000 and £80,000. This artwork has shown consistent value growth, with an auction history of 12 total sales since its entry to the market in November 2007. In the last five years, the hammer price has ranged from £60,390 in April 2023 to £62,450 in March 2022. The average annual growth rate of this work is 6%. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 60.

Meaning & Analysis

Roy Lichtenstein revisited the landscape motif numerous times throughout his career. His vast Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes comprise several individual series of prints. Sunshine Through the Clouds from 1985 belongs to the painterly Landscapes suite. The print mainly appropriates the formal attributes of landscape painting. However, it also imitates brushstrokes, thereby critiquing the idealised brushwork of the abstract expressionists.

In accordance with its title, Sunshine Through the Clouds depicts a reflective waterscape. The work relies on poignant details, as it presents a simple image charged with complex associations. The entire scene is composed of intersecting pastel-toned and primary coloured brushstrokes. The hand-painted sweeps interact energetically with the mechanical aspects of the artist’s own style. Consequently, the layout of the print becomes similarly abstracted as Lichtenstein’s concurrent Brushstroke Faces and Seven Apple Woodcuts.

It is with these stylised abstract expressionist brushstroke variations that Lichtenstein captures the essence of a natural setting. Translated into the conventional language of the landscape genre, the imitations appear instinctive and integrated. While Lichtenstein’s simulated painterly gestures symbolise shifting light and nature in motion, the detached cartoon elements produce spatial ambiguities. These strokes seem to have been cut out and pasted on, steering attention toward the surface texture of the work.

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.