The World's Largest Modern & Contemporary Prints & Editions Platform
Explosion - Signed Print by Roy Lichtenstein 1967 - MyArtBroker

Explosion
Signed Print

Roy Lichtenstein

£12,000-£18,000Value Indicator

$24,000-$35,000 Value Indicator

$21,000-$30,000 Value Indicator

¥110,000-¥160,000 Value Indicator

14,500-22,000 Value Indicator

$120,000-$170,000 Value Indicator

¥2,310,000-¥3,460,000 Value Indicator

$15,000-$22,000 Value Indicator

-2% AAGR

AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.

Medium: Lithograph

Edition size: 100

Year: 1967

Size: H 56cm x W 43cm

Signed: Yes

Format: Signed Print

TradingFloor

7 in network
7 want this
Find out how Buying or Selling works.
Track this artwork in realtime

Watch artwork, manage valuations, track your portfolio and return against your collection

Track auction value trend

Roy Lichtenstein's signed lithograph print, Explosion, from 1967, is estimated to be worth between £12,000 and £18,000. This artwork has an auction history of 14 total sales since its entry to the market in November 2008. Over the past five years, the hammer price has ranged from £13,774 in March 2023 to £32,253 in April 2021. The average annual growth rate of this work is currently -2%. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 100.

Unlock up-to-the-minute market data on Roy Lichtenstein's Explosion, login or create a free account today

Auction Results

Auction DateAuction HouseLocation
Hammer Price
Return to Seller
Buyer Paid
March 2023Bonhams Los Angeles United States
October 2022Phillips New York United States
April 2021Phillips New York United States
October 2019Freeman's United States
April 2018Phillips New York United States
September 2016Christie's New York United States
March 2015Julien's Auctions United States

Meaning & Analysis

Beginning in the early 1960s, Roy Lichtenstein began borrowing images of explosions from popular war comics for use in his paintings. He was interested in the way dynamic events like explosions were depicted in the stylised format of cartoon illustrations. On the one hand, the subject matter embodies the revolutionary nature of Pop Art. At the same time, the topic suggests the very real threat of annihilation by a nuclear explosion that was prevalent at that time.

Executed as part of Portfolio 9 in 1967, Explosion pays tribute to the mass-produced perfection of its commercial source material. Lichtenstein refines and enlarges his shape to fit a fine art context, obscuring the border between different modes and hierarchies of representation. The artist combines vivid primary colours, harsh black outlines, and carefully plotted Ben Day dots in his portrayal of a perfectly calculated explosion.

The work functions as a reaction against the pretensions of art history and as a critical reflection on warfare. Similar to Lichtenstein’s explosive Whaam! and As I Opened Fire, the work is also a nod to the artist’s own years spent in the army. Explosion showcases the artist’s striking formal vocabulary, making this work a typical example of his creative oeuvre.