The Whitney Receives a Remarkable Gift of Works by Lichtenstein

The Whitney Museum of American Art announced today that it has received a remarkable promised gift of over 400 works by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997). The Museum and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation have forged an agreement that will bring the two organizations into a close and ongoing partnership and will make the Whitney a locus for Lichtenstein scholarship with the creation of the Roy Lichtenstein Study Collection. Through this gift, and an expanded relationship with the Foundation, the Whitney will hold the world’s largest study collection of Lichtenstein’s work, opening up exceptional possibilities for the Museum in terms of exhibition, scholarship, and conservation.

Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director, said, “We are delighted to join with the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in this groundbreaking collaboration. The creation of the Roy Lichtenstein Study Collection, thanks to the great generosity of Dorothy Lichtenstein and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, will give future generations the opportunity to see and study the full range of Roy’s work, spanning nearly sixty years. The Whitney’s connection to Roy’s work dates back to 1965, and we have presented his art in dozens of exhibitions. We are thrilled that this gift will enable the Whitney to deepen the knowledge and appreciation of the art of this singularly inventive and incomparable American artist, one of the seminal figures in the history of American art. I want to express our profound gratitude to Dorothy, and to Executive Director Jack Cowart and Chairman of the Board Ruth Fine, as well as the entire Board of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, for this immensely significant gift and a new model of institutional collaboration.”

Jack Cowart, Executive Director of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, commented, “We are extremely pleased to be working with the Whitney and are grateful to Adam and the Museum’s talented staff. The Lichtenstein Foundation initiated this partnership, which entails the transfer of substantial bodies of artwork to the Whitney. We were looking for a hub so that the range of Roy’s subjects, working methods, and materials could be held in a central place and be available to the public, scholars, and artists. The Whitney was an ideal choice, and we look forward to growing the collection in the years to come. Furthermore, our hope is that the Lichtenstein studio, just a few blocks from the Museum, will eventually go to the Whitney, enabling the Museum to enrich connections to living artists as well as those of Roy’s generation. We look forward to collaborating on extensive programming there, a project that is already underway.”

Image on top: Roy Lichtenstein, Sea Shore, 1964. Oil and Magna on two Plexiglas panels, paint on Plexiglas box frame (24 x 30 in.). © Roy Lichtenstein Foundation