Hat, 1968

Private Collection, Ontario

Lichtenstein is a celebrated American pop artist best known for his “dot” paintings that reference techniques from comic books and commercial printing. Because of this, most of his paintings were comprised of the primary colours blue, red, and yellow. “Hat” is made in Lichtenstein's signature colours and style, and was completed with his interest in merging high and low art in mind. In “Hat,” Lichtenstein conflates multiple creative forms, including fashion, painting, fine art prints, commercial printing, and comics, so that the viewer could create an opinion of the artwork without being distracted by its classification. Roy Lichtenstein's double unfolded version of “Hat” is very rare. When folded, it makes a tri-cornered hat that the artist thought of as an art deco boat. This possibility for transformation provides the viewer with the opportunity to re-interpret the artwork as it shifts purposes. “Hat” was printed at Omega Graphics, New York in collaboration with Bernard Reitkopf, and published by the Letter Edged in Black Press. Its three dimensional structure is related to the freestanding printed ‘Pyramid’ (cat 62) of the same year.