This Must Be the Place (Corlett III.20), 1965

Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto

Mary Lee Corlett, "The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1948-1997", Manchester, 2000, page 300, catalogue no. Corlett III.20

Roy Lichtenstein had already established himself as a cutting-edge artist, regularly exhibiting with Leo Castelli by the time he was asked to create "This Must Be the Place" as a promotional poster. The futuristic cityscape Lichtenstein has represented is loosely based on the skyline of New York City, where the National Cartoonists Society 19th Annual Reuben Awards dinner was held at the Plaza Hotel in April 1965. According to Mary Lee Corlett, “An undated NCS press release (found in the New York Public Library clipping files) indicates that it was first published as a poster by the Society. Shortly thereafter the Leo Castelli Gallery republished the image as this print. The press release states: ‘The Castelli Gallery in New York has arranged for a special limited edition of the drawing for the NCS poster, printed from the same plates, that will be sold at the Gallery for $15 a print’.” For "This Must Be the Place", Lichtenstein has returned to one of his most enduring colour schemes: red, yellow, blue and black filled with Benday dots. The remains of a rocket stream are visible at the top edge with the title of the work, mimicking a speech bubble commonly found in comic books, which Lichtenstein drew from for inspiration.