Roy Lichtenstein’s Studio Donated to the Whitney, Andy Warhol Heard with A.I.

Roy Lichtenstein 1923-1997

The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation has donated the artist's former West Village studio to the Whitney Museum. The building will be renovated and become headquarters for the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program (I.S.P.).

The I.S.P. was established in 1968. Every year, fifteen young aspiring artists, art curators and historians are invited to participate. They share ideas among themselves and with visiting artists. Lichtenstein was one of the artists who led seminars for the program, having established a relationship with the Whitney in 1965.

The program has not had a permanent home until this acquisition. Lichtenstein bought the 9,000 square foot building on Washington Street in 1987, just a few blocks from the Whitney itself.  The three-story building served as both his home and studio until his death in 1997.

The building, once a metalworking shop, will be renovated and ready for occupancy in 2023.

Before Roy Lichtenstein garnered fame for his Pop artwork, he experimented with different styles, materials and subjects, including folk art,  history and the American west.

A traveling exhibit of these early works, titled Roy Lichtenstein: History in the Making 1948-1960, has been curated by the Colby College Museum of Art and Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. It will be on display at the Columbus Museum of Art from March 4 through June 5, 2022 and then at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University from August 25, 2022 through January 8, 2023.

Works like Moonscape and Landscape, screenprints done on Rowlux plastic film, are wonderful examples of Lichtenstein's creative use of cutting edge materials, as is his use of porcelain and resin to create his Landscape Mobile. These, and other works by Roy Lichtenstein, in a variety of medium and styles, are available at VFA.

Andy Warhol 1928-1987

Andy Warhol spent a lot of time in public. He was photographed in clubs with a host of celebrities and at the Vatican with Pope John Paul ll. He was seen, but not often heard, and, in many ways, aspects of his persona remain a mystery.

In 1989, Warner Books posthumously published The Andy Warhol Diaries, edited by his long-time friend, Pat Hackett.

Warhol called Hackett on weekday mornings and she transcribed his words. The published diary, edited from 20,000 pages down to an 807 page book, covers eleven years of Warhol's life.

Director Andrew Rossi has taken Warhol's words and created a six-part documentary, using Artificial Intelligence technology to recreate Warhol's voice. The show's official description says, "Beginning with his childhood in Pittsburgh, the series traces Warhol's almost unbelievably diverse journey fluidly moving between mediums and through eras as an artist - both revered and reviled - director, publisher, TV producer, scene maker, celebrity and much more. While he was a larger-than-life figure, Warhol was intensely private regarding his personal life. This series truly reveals much about the very complex man through his own words - often in his own voice through the use of cutting-edge AI techniques - and those who worked, created and played alongside him from the subversive to the mainstream, from John Waters to Rob Lowe."

The Andy Warhol Foundation has approved the project and the use of A.I.

The Andy Warhol Diaries will air on Netflix on March 9, 2022.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol or any of the other fine art at VFA.