Reflections on Hair (C.241) isolated one of the most distinctive elements of Roy Lichtenstein's figure work — the drawn hair of his comic-book women, its flowing yellow forms a signature of his comic-book style — and set it under the fragmenting silver bands of the Reflection Series. The hair, printed in bold yellow and outlined in black, was visible between the metallic strips as a series of curved linear forms whose decorative density contrasted with the cool regularity of the reflective collage.

The choice to focus on hair was precise. In Lichtenstein's comic-book figures, the hair was among the most distinctively stylised and codified elements — its flowing curves a counterpoint to the dot-patterned skin and the bold outlines of the face.

The woodcut and screenprint combination, with the metalized PVC collage, gave the work a surface that combined the physical texture of the woodblock with the clean precision of the screenprinted strokes. Roy Lichtenstein had always been alert to the way different printmaking processes yielded different qualities of stroke, and the Reflection Series exploited this alertness fully — each work combining multiple processes to arrive at a surface of studied material complexity.

For more information or to buy Reflections on Hair by Roy Lichtenstein, contact our specialists using the enquiry button above.