Literature
Literature in this catalogue raisonné includes selected books, exhibition catalogues, and articles with new publications added as needed. The overall selection is based on our analysis of the value a publication provides to the specialist as well as the general reader. A small number of standard art history surveys illustrating Lichtenstein’s work of the early 1960s is also included. Excluded are museum collection catalogues, auction catalogues, minor reviews, unpublished materials, and audiotapes that may be held by and accessed via the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Archives.
A selection of publications from the artist's library in which he drew and/or which influenced him are listed with the descriptor Antecedent Source Material.
For books that are not exhibition catalogues, first editions are cited unless there is a specific reason to include later editions. If a relevant publication first appeared in a language other than English, and subsequently in English, we have included the English edition with a remark noting its publication in the original language, when known. For titles in non-Roman alphabets, an English service translation is provided.
Publication formats such as portfolio, broadside, symposium publication, etc., are noted.
Format
Publications are listed by abbreviations that are ordered by year and alphabetically. In general, the literature entries are abbreviated by the last name of the author—or, if no author is given, a shortened institution name—followed by the year. These abbreviations appear as publication hyperlinks in the catalogue entries of artworks.
Each abbreviation stands for only one author or institution. If there is more than one work by the same author, published in the same year, letters are added to the year based on alphabetical order, for example, Alloway 1963a, Alloway 1963b. In the abbreviations, "et al.," indicating more than three authors, appears but "ed.," for editor, does not. If an abbreviation includes "et al.," it is alphabetized after all works by the individual author alone. To group different but related institutions together, in a few instances a parenthetical is used so that the name appears first in the abbreviations, for example, Beyeler (Fondation) and Beyeler (Galerie).
Interviews with the artist are included with the publication description Interview. Question-and-answer style interviews, for example, Coplans 1963b, include the artist as an author, but the abbreviation form includes only the interviewer. For narrative interviews, the artist is not included as an author, for example, Andreae 1969.
The abbreviations used for unattributed articles and essays are the magazine titles in which they were published and appear italicized. Articles that were published under the initials of the author rather than a full name are alphabetized by last initial, unless the full name of the author is known. In that case, the full name is included in square brackets, and the entry is alphabetized by author’s last name. Brackets are omitted from abbreviations.
Cities of institutions are always included, even if they appear in the name of the institution itself. The state or country is included if the location cannot be found in the geographical list in the eleventh edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary or if there is more than one city with the same name. Exceptions include London, Paris and Rome, which, although they have North American namesakes, can be assumed to be the major European cities.
Capitalization of foreign-language titles follows the style generally used in that language, punctuation follows standards for English. The as an initial article is omitted from newspaper names but not from journal names for English publications. The article is maintained in both cases in foreign-language titles (such as L’espresso and Le monde). The initial the in an institution’s or other publisher’s name is omitted if the name is in English.
For nonmajor newspapers, if the state or country may be helpful to the reader, it is included in Roman type in square brackets within the publication’s title (for example, East Hampton [N.Y.] Star).
The abbreviation "n.p." in a literature entry is used to indicate an unknown place of publication. "Unpaginated" indicates a source that has no page numbers.
If the date of publication does not appear in an exhibition catalogue but can be estimated from the exhibition dates, the year the exhibition opened has generally been assumed to be the year of publication. Square brackets may be used when that is not a safe assumption; the brackets do not appear in the abbreviation.
Exhibition Catalogues
For solo exhibition catalogues, all published editions, including translations for specific venues, are given as separate entries and are hyperlinked to the exhibition venue for which they were prepared. When no catalogue has been hyperlinked with a traveling venue, it can be assumed that the venue did not produce its own publication. In instances where an exhibition did not travel, the English-language catalogue is listed. Any additional related publications also appear with hyperlinks to the corresponding exhibitions.
Periodicals
This catalogue presents a range of periodicals chosen for their publication in reputable sources, with significant scholarly contributions. The authors focused on reviews of the artist’s solo exhibitions. They were chosen using the RLF Archives’ holdings, furthered by extensive studies of additional sources in museums, galleries, and other institutions’ archives. Reviews are hyperlinked with the affected exhibitions as are selected artist interviews published on the occasion of a solo show. At times, reviews are included because they served as main sources to confirm exhibition details; they are also hyperlinked and may be annotated with a remark on their content.
Lichtenstein's pre-Pop works were not as widely discussed in publications as his later work, which is why most known material about these early works (mainly newspaper articles) is included. Equally, some periodicals are included and linked to artworks only because no other published references for them are known. The first publication of a scholarly essay is included. Reprints are acknowledged with a brief remark.
Essays
Individual essays published in monographs and exhibition catalogues devoted entirely to Lichtenstein’s art have their own entries. However, the catalogue raisonné’s artwork references are hyperlinked only to the entire publication. Exhibition catalogue entries do not include the names of essayists but are credited to the organizing institutions unless individual authors or curators are credited on the books’ title pages or in library cataloguing as the formal authors.
For books devoted to subjects broader than Lichtenstein’s art, the relevant section is added to literature. In cases when the entire book is general interest, only the relevant section is added to the bibliography and the artwork is hyperlinked to that entry.
References
References in the catalogue raisonné artwork entries are given in an abbreviated form. They are hyperlinked to the full literature records.
References cite illustrations. Exceptions are a selection of critically useful texts that contain no illustrations (not ill.) such as brochures published by John Heller Gallery, Bianchini 1970 and Bernice Rose 1987, as well as publications with rarely or never cited artworks (for example, the artist’s pre-Pop works, drawings and Rowlux works). Print references are taken directly from The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1948–1997 (Corlett 2002). Citations listed in this publication’s bibliography are incorporated here and marked with the publication description 2002 RL Print CR Bibliography.
Wherever possible, references were researched from the original publications, but many publication references were gathered by various researchers. Cited are plates or similar images, not small images or figures unless they illustrate artworks that have been rarely or never published.
When an artwork appeared in an exhibition and was reproduced in the accompanying catalogue, the reference appears in the artwork entry under Exhibitions rather than Literature. When a work was not exhibited but is reproduced in the exhibition catalogue, the citation appears under Literature.
Reference Style
When a work is illustrated more than once in a source, the listing follows the pagination. A cover illustration is listed last.
The illustration number "no.," universally used for catalogue, plate, or checklist number, is listed first, followed by the page number and the type of illustration. If the authors could not confirm whether an illustration is in color or in black-and-white, it is listed as "ill." When only a range of page numbers is available for an article, etc., with an illustration, it is also listed as "ill." When illustrations in an unpaginated exhibition catalogue are not numbered, but a checklist in the publication gives numbers, those are included in the artwork references.
Double spread and foldout illustrations are indicated as such. Installation images of exhibited artworks, along with illustrations depicting them in progress, with the artist, or in the artist’s studio, are cited only when the artworks are clearly or fully visible. A comment is provided (e.g., installation view, in progress, with artist or in studio). Illustrations of monumental works in non-permanent locations are noted as in situ.
If only some pages in a book are paginated, "n.p." indicates that the page of an illustration carries no page number. The nearest page numbers are indicated where possible. Where page numbers could not be confirmed, the reference says "p. unavail."
Reference Remarks
Where an image does not illustrate the artwork identified by the related caption or when an illustration is given the wrong caption, that is noted. Similarly identified are incorrect titles and dates. The use of a known alternate title is not considered an error. When a differing title is in a language other than English or is a direct translation, this is not noted in the illustration comment. When part of the title is italicized, capitalized or punctuated differently, this is not indicated in the illustration comment.
A variety of dimensions for Lichtenstein’s artworks appear across the many publications. Records will only identify dimensions that differ substantially. Media line terminology was used loosely during studio times and changed again during the Foundation’s operations. These differences will not be noted unless there are actual errors (e.g., the media line for another work is listed).
For illustrations in major exhibition catalogues and books, significant cropping of an artwork (usually drawings) is mentioned. Where illustrations are flopped, upside down, or otherwise reproduced incorrectly, the error is noted.
Editions
When the edition (e.g., a banner or cast of a sculpture) illustrated is different from the edition that was exhibited, the cast or banner shown in the exhibition is still hyperlinked. If the catalogue raisonné authors were unable to determine which cast or edition is illustrated, the edition number of the piece that was on view is suggested (and hyperlinked): p. 138 color ill. (ed. 3/3?).
Sketchbooks and notebooks
Literature references for sketchbooks and notebooks are hyperlinked to the pages illustrated. For illustrations of notebook pages for which no catalogue entries were created (because the artist did not draw on them), the umbrella notebook entry is linked.