Pistol
30 1/16 x 22 5/16inchesPistol, 1968
paper: 15 1/4 x 14 7/8 inches
image: 15 1/4 x 8 5/8 inches
frame: 21 1/2 x 16 inche
edition of unknown size, estimated at fewer than 300 impressions
unsigned as published
stamped verso "Silk Screen from Banner by Roy Lichtenstein © for Multiples Inc. 1968"
printed by Edition Domberger, Germany
publisher Multiples, Inc., New York
Provenance
Multiples Inc., New York
Private Collection, New York, acquired from the above
The power of Pistol as an image is undeniable. The myth of the Wild West and the central role in American culture on which this myth depends, is utterly elucidated with it; Lichtenstein has intensified the drama of the pointed gun, now, literally, 'in your face'.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN PISTOL
The power of Pistol as an image is undeniable. The myth of the Wild West and the central role in American culture on which this myth depends, is utterly elucidated with it; Lichtenstein has intensified the drama of the pointed gun, now, literally, 'in your face'. In the early 1960s, Lichtenstein was already obliterating gesture in his paintings, using magna, an early acrylic pigment, to paint areas of color smoothly .In 1964 Roy Lichtenstein was asked to design a felt banner by legendary art dealers Marion Goodman, Robert Graham and Barbara Kulicke, who established the Betsy Ross Flag and Banner partnership. After creating the iconic 1964 Felt Banner in an edition of 20, Lichtenstein created Pistol, 1968, using his Pistol image to publish an unsigned and unnumbered color silkscreen published by Multiples Inc.
For Lichtenstein, the banner superbly addressed three vital issues: the process stretched the 'steps' between the original motif and the finished work; the technique ensured a gesture-free surface; and, being a multiple, the purchase price was low enough that more people could buy one of the copies in the edition. Lichtenstein was always interested in pushing the boundaries of his art, exploring different media such as ceramic, steel sculpture and - as here - felt; as well as issuing works in small editions. Lichtenstein took this one step further in 1968, when the Pistolbanner was used by Multiples Inc. and printed as a color silkscreen in an unumbered edition.
Collection The Museum of Modern Art, New York
One of the most wrenching issues in America in the 1960s was the debate over gun ownership. The issue became red-hot in early in June 1968 after the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Time magazine published an issue on June 21 titled 'The Gun in America'; in place of the customary portrait, the cover featuredan image created by Roy Lichtenstein of a pistol pointing straight at the viewer which is clearly derived from the 1964 banner. The Time cover's gun has a wisp of smoke coming out of the barrel, implying that the weapon has been fired and perhaps addressing the topicality of the subject. Though powerful in its own way, it falls short of the awesome latent potency implied by Pistol, surely one of the masterpieces of the era and one of the most important works of Pop Art.
