Honoring Roy Lichtenstein; David Hockney at the Smithsonian

Roy Lichtenstein 1923-1997

 The US Post Office is honoring Roy Lichtenstein with a set of forever stamps that capture the artist's playfulness and style. The issue is composed of five stamps, illustrating five artworks, in a pane of twenty.  The selvage features a photograph of Lichtenstein by photographer Bob Adelman, with the artist's face framed by a model of his 1983 sculpture Brushstrokes in Flight. Adelman was a friend of Lichtenstein's, and many other New York artists, as well as a major chronicler of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

Roy Lichtenstein: History in the Making is currently on exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The show features Lichtenstein's early works, many never before on public display, before he began using his signature Benday dots. The exhibit has traveled from the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, to the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio and will end its tour at the Nasher Museum on January 8, 2023.

David Hockney 1937 - present

The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has announced the recipients of the 2022 Portrait of a Nation Awards. Each year the awards go to individuals who have made transformative contributions to the United States and its people. Among the seven honorees are tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams, Dr. Anthony Fauci and music executive Clive Davis.

Clive Davis may not be as much of a household name as the others, but his contributions are very well known. Davis is a lawyer and record producer who signed very successful recording artists like Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Laura Nyro, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, Billy Joel, Donovan, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd and helped promote the careers of Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000.

Each honoree is represented in the Gallery with a portrait, made by a contemporary artist. Davis chose David Hockney to paint his portrait. Davis and Hockney's connection is singer, songwriter and artist, Joni Mitchell. Hockney was Mitchell's guest at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy galas.

Hockney is famous for not accepting commissions; he refused to paint Queen Elizabeth's portrait when asked but accepted Davis'. Here's a look at the portraits of the 2022 honorees:

Hockney's iPad paintings are currently on a traveling exhibit at five major galleries in London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Roy Lichtenstein and David Hockney available at Surovek Gallery.