Name: Illustration For Passage Du Nord-Ouest
Brand: Roy Lichtenstein
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Roy Lichtenstein's Illustration For Passage Du Nord-Ouest (signed) is estimated to be worth between £2,950 and £4,400. This intaglio print from 1992 has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 5%. This work has an auction history of six total sales since its entry to the market in July 2015. In the last 12 months, the average selling price was £2,157, across 2 sales. Over the past five years, the hammer price has varied from £1,914 in June 2025 to £10,170 in June 2024. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 80.

Meaning & Analysis

Two decades after the publication of Allen Ginsberg’s 1972 poetry collection, The Fall Of America, Roy Lichtenstein was entrusted with illustrating a selection of poems from the book. Ginsberg was a central member of the Beat Generation, a literary movement responding to changes in American culture and politics in the post-war era.

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Passage Du Nord-Ouest iIllustrates Ginsberg’s poem “Northwest Passage”, which details the harrowing consequences of local pollution and industrial reach. To this day, the Northwest Passage represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. Ginsberg’s poem calls to attention the inherent financial and materialistic passage that this endeavour imposed across the North American continent.

Lichtenstein’s Passage Du Nord-Ouestdraws on Ginsberg’s spontaneous and prophetic style of expression for its main composition. It is the only black and white work in the series, compiled out of broken black lines set against an off-white background. It is also the only print depicting a figure, showing Ginsberg himself drawn as a guru, floating in the centre of the canvas in lotus position. Lichtenstein’s Passage Du Nord-Ouest appropriates the long standing tradition of saint portraiture, presenting a minimalistic depiction of Ginsberg as a divine spiritual leader.