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Crying Girl (1963), Roy Lichtenstein, lithograph on lightweight, off-white wove paper, 16 by 24 inches (40.6 cm × 61.0 cm)
Crying Girl (1964), Roy Lichtenstein, porcelain enamel on steel, 46 by 46 inches (116.8 cm × 116.8 cm)

Crying Girl is the name of two different works by Roy Lichtenstein: a 1963 offset lithograph on lightweight, off-white wove paper and a 1964 porcelain enamel on steel.

Background

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During the late 1950s and early 1960s, many American painters began to adapt the imagery and motifs of comics. Lichtenstein in 1958 made drawings of comic strip characters. Andy Warhol produced his earliest paintings in this style in 1960. Lichtenstein, unaware of Warhol's work, produced Look Mickey and Popeye in 1961.[1] In the early 1960s, Lichtenstein produced several "fantasy drama" paintings of women in love affairs with domineering men, causing women to be miserable. These works served as prelude to 1964 paintings of innocent "girls next door" in a variety of tenuous emotional states.[2] Picasso's depictions of weeping women may have influenced Lichtenstein to produce portrayals of vulnerable teary-eyed women.[3] Another possible influence on his emphasis on depicting distressed women in the early to mid-1960s was that his first marriage was dissolving at the time.[4] Lichtenstein's first marriage to Isabel Wilson, which resulted in two sons, lasted from 1949 to 1965.[5]

Although single-panel comic representations depict a moment in time, both works are examples in which the moment is "pregnant" with drama related to other times.[6] This work also marks a phase in Lichtenstein's career when many of his works were named with present-participial names such as Sleeping Girl, Crying Girl and Blonde Waiting, which accentuates the works' "relation to process and action."[6]

1963 lithograph

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The lithograph, which shows a crying woman with her hand near her mouth, is on lightweight, off-white wove paper. It measures 16 by 24 inches (40.6 cm × 61.0 cm).[7] This image was adapted from a comic book panel from the romance comic Secret Hearts #88 (DC Comics, June 1963),[8] in the story "Escape from Loneliness," penciled by Tony Abruzzo and inked by Bernard Sachs.[9]

Artist Chuck Close claimed to have purchased the lithograph from Leo Castelli on a visit to New York in 1963 for $10 ($105 in 2025 dollars[10]). Close recalled the purchase: "I remember I bought [a] Roy Lichtenstein... for [ten] dollars from Leo Castelli at Lichtenstein's first [sic] show. I brought it back to Yale and I was attacked unmercifully."[11] (Lichtenstein's first solo show at The Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City, which sold out before opening, ran from February 10 through March 3, 1962.[12][13] His second solo exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery ran from September 28 through October 24, 1963.)[12][14]

1964 enamel

[edit]
Comic book source: a Werner Roth/John Romita Sr. panel from Secret Hearts #88 (DC Comics June 1963)

The porcelain enamel on steel, which depicts a woman wiping away a tear, measures 46 by 46 inches (116.8 cm × 116.8 cm).[15] It was adapted from a story in the same romance comic, Secret Hearts #88 (DC Comics, June 1963):[16] "Exit Love--Enter Heartbreak!", drawn by Werner Roth and John Romita Sr.[17][18]

The 1964 enamel has been held at the Milwaukee Art Museum since 1965, and is considered to be one of Roy Lichtenstein's earliest attempts at producing enamel-on-steel works from the same type of comic book imagery he had begun producing as conventional hand-painted canvases.[19]

See also

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Notes

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Crying Girl

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Crying Girl is the title of two iconic works by American artist : a 1963 color offset lithograph on lightweight, off-white wove paper, published by the Gallery in New York, and a 1964 porcelain enamel on steel panel produced in an edition of five. Both versions depict a of a blonde woman's face in profile, with tears streaming down her cheek, red lips, and yellow hair accented by black lines, all rendered in a bold style using Ben-Day dots for shading and mechanical precision to evoke mass-produced imagery. The lithograph, measuring approximately 45.8 x 61 cm, was printed by Colorcraft in New York and initially served as an invitation for Lichtenstein's solo exhibition at the Gallery, marking an early milestone in his adoption of motifs from romance narratives. The enamel version, fabricated by Architectural Porcelain Fabricators, Inc., in , expands to 46 x 46 inches and represents one of Lichtenstein's first experiments with industrial materials, aligning with his interest in translating ephemeral print media into durable, sculptural forms. These works draw from and comic books, specifically romance genres that portrayed women's emotional turmoil in relationships, adapting panels to critique the stylized drama of . In the broader context of , Crying Girl exemplifies Lichtenstein's signature technique of enlarging and recontextualizing commercial imagery to highlight themes of , media saturation, and idealized . The piece underscores the glamorized yet sorrowful archetype of the , using rigid outlines and dotted patterns to mimic mechanical reproduction and emphasize emotional exaggeration in . Held in prestigious collections such as the , the , and the , it remains a pivotal example of Lichtenstein's influence on postwar American art.

Background and Context

Artistic Influences

Roy Lichtenstein's adoption of comic book imagery in the early 1960s was a cornerstone of his contribution to the movement, which sought to challenge the dominance of by embracing , aesthetics, and everyday consumer culture. Unlike the emotional, gestural abstraction of artists like , Lichtenstein's work emphasized mechanical reproduction and impersonal narratives drawn from popular sources, such as comic strips, to critique and elevate lowbrow visual language. This shift marked a deliberate reaction against the introspective heroism of , positioning as a more democratic and ironic commentary on postwar American society. A key influence on Lichtenstein's depiction of emotional female figures in works like Crying Girl was Pablo Picasso's Weeping Woman series (1937), created amid the , which featured distorted, anguished female faces to convey profound suffering and fragmentation. Lichtenstein echoed this motif of stylized and expressive but transformed it through conventions, incorporating Ben-Day dots for a printed, commercial effect and bold black outlines to mimic stylization, thereby updating the modernist anguish into a detached, media-saturated commentary. This appropriation created a between precedents and contemporary mass culture, highlighting Lichtenstein's admiration for Picasso's innovative formal distortions while subverting them with ironic detachment. Romance comics from the and served as a for Lichtenstein, capturing the melodramatic portrayal of female emotions in American , where women were often depicted in states of romantic turmoil, heartbreak, or vulnerability. These , published by companies like DC, emphasized exaggerated expressions and narrative tropes of love and betrayal, which Lichtenstein isolated and enlarged to underscore the artificiality of such emotional archetypes in . By drawing from this , he not only referenced the cultural obsession with idealized femininity but also critiqued its formulaic nature, transforming personal anguish into a commodified spectacle. Lichtenstein's choice of present-participial titles, such as Crying Girl, denoted ongoing action and immediacy, directly echoing the dynamic captions and speech balloons in comic books that propelled narrative momentum. This stylistic device reinforced the works' roots in , inviting viewers to engage with the frozen moment as part of a larger, serialized story, while amplifying the emphasis on accessibility and visual immediacy.

Personal Inspirations

Roy married Isabel Wilson in June 1949, and the couple had two sons, David and Mitchell, before separating in 1963, a period that coincided with the creation of Crying Girl in 1963 and its enamel iterations in 1964. The dissolution of this amid the harsh upstate winters has been cited as a potential personal catalyst for the work's exploration of romantic distress. According to Letty Eisenhauer, an artist and former girlfriend of , his anger toward Isabel manifested in the series of distressed female figures, with Eisenhauer stating that "the crying girls are what he wanted women to be" and that "he wanted to make women cry." These portrayals connected to Lichtenstein's own emotional experiences and his observations of entrenched dynamics in mid-20th-century America, where popular media frequently depicted women as passive, vulnerable, and prone to tearful emotional displays in domestic or romantic contexts. In comic books, a for his imagery, female characters were often relegated to roles as emotional dependents or damsels requiring rescue, reinforcing societal expectations of during the post-World War II era. This cultural backdrop amplified the personal resonance of vulnerability in Crying Girl, blending Lichtenstein's with broader critiques of mediated stereotypes. Lichtenstein's teaching position at Rutgers University's Douglass College, starting in 1960, further shaped his approach by immersing him in an environment that encouraged the integration of commonplace visuals into art. There, he encountered innovators like , whose "happenings" and emphasis on performance and everyday objects prompted Lichtenstein to experiment boldly with commercial imagery from advertisements and , moving away from toward more accessible, narrative-driven forms. This evolution aligned with Lichtenstein's broader transition to around 1961, driven by a desire to interrogate the dehumanizing effects of consumer culture and the alienation it fostered in modern life. By appropriating mass-produced visuals, he sought to highlight the emotional shallowness and inherent in American society, transforming personal disconnection into a pointed artistic commentary.

The 1963 Lithograph

Creation and Technique

The 1963 Crying Girl was produced as an offset lithograph using commercial printing methods designed to replicate the mechanical reproduction style of comic books, including the application of Ben-Day dots for shading and tonal effects. Printed by Colorcraft in New York and published by the Gallery, the work was printed in four colors—yellow, red, black, and a secondary blue—with the red hue specifically selected from the packaging of an cigarette pack to achieve a vivid, comic-like intensity. This process involved coordinating the separation of colors onto plates for offset , allowing for efficient while preserving the bold outlines and dotted patterns characteristic of Lichtenstein's adaptation of popular media aesthetics. Preparation for the print began with detailed color separation drawings, such as RLCR 758, which served as guides for transferring each color layer to the printing plates. These preparatory works were executed on paper using a combination of and for broad areas, pen and for precise lines, pencil for preliminary sketches, and or opaque watercolor for adjustments and masking. Lichtenstein provided a black-line with overlays to printer Marcus Ratliff, who oversaw the technical execution to ensure alignment across the color runs. The resulting image emphasizes the Ben-Day dot technique, where small, uniformly spaced dots create gradients and textures, directly mimicking the low-cost printing conventions of mid-20th-century . Printed on lightweight, off-white , the sheet measures 18 × 24 inches (45.8 × 61 cm), with the image area approximately 17¼ × 23¼ inches (43.8 × 59 cm). The edition size is unknown and unnumbered, with impressions created primarily as mailers and invitations for Lichtenstein's solo exhibition at the Gallery from September 28 to October 24, 1963, though some examples were later signed in by the . Lichtenstein retained about 150 pristine, unfolded copies, each signed in in the lower right margin but unnumbered. This experimental approach to highlighted the work's status as an accessible promotional piece, bridging with mass-media reproduction techniques.

Description and Comic Source

Crying Girl (1963) is an offset lithograph depicting a of a young woman's face in profile, turned slightly to the viewer's left, with exaggerated, teary eyes dominating the composition. The blonde figure has oversized, almond-shaped eyes brimming with tears, from which thick black droplets cascade down her pale cheeks, rendered with Ben-Day dots in and for tonal shading to simulate printing techniques. Her full red lips are parted in an open-mouthed wail of distress, framed by flowing hair against a flat blue background, all outlined in bold black contours that amplify the dramatic emotional intensity. The image is adapted from a single panel in the romance comic story "Escape from Loneliness," published in Secret Hearts #88 by DC Comics in June 1963, with pencils by Tony Abruzzo and inks by . Lichtenstein isolated and enlarged the panel's central female figure, eliminating the original reading "I cried for three days!" and surrounding narrative elements to emphasize the abstracted face as a poignant symbol of romantic despair. Lichtenstein employed his signature Pop Art style through heavy black outlines, a restricted palette of primary colors—yellow for the hair, red for the lips, blue for the background, and black for the tears and lines—and mechanical Ben-Day dot patterns across the skin and shading, evoking the authenticity of mass-produced comics while transforming the source into monumental fine art. Produced by Colorcraft in New York and published by the Leo Castelli Gallery, the edition consists primarily of unsigned impressions printed on lightweight off-white wove paper, measuring 18 by 24 inches overall, which were folded and used as invitations for Lichtenstein's second solo exhibition at the gallery from September 28 to October 24, 1963; Lichtenstein retained about 150 pristine, unfolded copies, each signed in pencil in the lower right margin but unnumbered.

The 1964 Enamel Works

Development and Studies

The development of the 1964 porcelain enamel versions of Crying Girl occurred in 1964, following Roy Lichtenstein's second solo exhibition at Gallery from September 28 to October 24, 1963, and amid his increasing prominence in the movement through inclusions in major shows such as "Six Painters and the Object" at the earlier that year. This period marked Lichtenstein's expansion into new media, including early experiments with enamel motifs on porcelain enamel butcher trays in 1963, leading to more ambitious collaborations for comic-inspired works. A key preparatory drawing, titled Crying Girl (Study) (RLCR 843), dates to circa 1964 and served as an initial exploration of the composition for the enamel panels. Executed in , or opaque watercolor, and pencil on paper, the sheet measures 5 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches (14 x 14.6 cm), with the image area at 4 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches (12.1 x 12.4 cm); it is initialed "rfl" in the lower right. This small-scale work focused on refining the facial composition, functioning as a starting point for developing ideas toward the enamel format, with an alternate title of Study for Enamel Crying Girl. Further preparatory efforts included Crying Girl (Color Separation) (RLCR 844), a 1964 drawing in brush and , correction fluid or opaque watercolor, and pencil on paper, measuring 25 5/8 x 24 1/16 inches (65.1 x 61.1 cm) for the sheet and 22 3/4 x 22 3/4 inches (57.8 x 57.8 cm) for the image. Classified as a color separation study specifically for the blue layer of the enamel, it directly supported the production process for the final works. Lichtenstein employed tracings and projections during this phase, adapting source material and his own sketches to achieve precise scaling and transfer for the larger enamel format. The evolution from the 1963 offset lithograph—a smaller-scale, paper-based print—to the enamels involved a deliberate enlargement and shift to industrial materials to emphasize mechanical . Lichtenstein decided on editioning to test in this new context, using projections to upscale the composition while maintaining comic-strip aesthetics. Technical experimentation centered on porcelain enamel on , a process of firing powdered glass onto a metal substrate for a durable, glossy finish reminiscent of commercial signage. This required collaboration with fabricators, notably Architectural Porcelain Fabricators, Inc., in , with possibly supplied by Beckley Perforating Co., to realize the panels' industrial quality. By late , these enamels aligned with Lichtenstein's ongoing Castelli exhibition of October 24 to November 19, solidifying his trajectory.

Description and Editions

The 1964 enamel works titled Crying Girl present a square-format of a blonde woman in distress, featuring her exaggerated wide eyes, pursed scarlet lips, and black teardrop-shaped tears cascading down her cheeks. The composition employs vivid yellow for the hair against a stark background, accented by bold black outlines and Ben-Day-like dots applied in porcelain enamel to mimic the mechanical, pop-art aesthetic of comic strips and commercial billboards. These pieces are fabricated in porcelain enamel on steel, each measuring 46 x 46 inches (116.8 x 116.8 cm), and were produced in a limited edition of five (RLCR 845.1-5) by Architectural Porcelain Fabricators, Inc. Most examples are signed, numbered, and dated on the verso, such as "rf Lichtenstein / 1964 #1 of 5," ensuring their authenticity and collectibility. The imagery derives from a specific panel in the DC Comics romance title Secret Hearts #88 (June 1963), in the story "Exit Love—Enter Heartbreak!" drawn by penciler Werner Roth and inker John Romita Sr., which isolates the woman's heartbroken expression amid a narrative of romantic rejection. The editions display minor variations arising from the industrial enameling process, yet all embody the medium's inherent durability and resistance to fading, contributing to their lasting visual impact. Notably, one impression (RLCR 845.2) entered the Art Museum's collection upon its purchase in 1965, exemplifying the work's early institutional acclaim.

Reception and Legacy

Critical Analysis

Roy Lichtenstein's Crying Girl captures the representation of 1950s-1960s female identity as trapped in melodramatic romance narratives, where the central figure embodies the emotional turmoil of idealized yet confining roles within consumer culture. The exaggerated streaming down her face serve as a potent symbol of emotional repression, distilling complex inner conflict into a stylized, comic-book trope that critiques the superficial portrayal of women's feelings in . This work reflects the era's societal expectations, portraying women as vulnerable and dependent, their distress reduced to repeatable icons that mirror the repetitive nature of romantic and . In the broader context of , Crying Girl parodies the exaggeration inherent in comic books through Lichtenstein's use of mechanical reproduction techniques, such as Ben-Day dots and bold outlines, which question the authenticity of emotion in art versus the detachment of . The contrast between the subject's apparent vulnerability—evident in her wide-eyed despair—and the industrial durability of the enamel versions underscores 's interrogation of high art's against the disposability of popular imagery, transforming personal into an impersonal, reproducible object. This mechanical aesthetic elevates comic clichés to while exposing the of sentiment in consumer society. Later feminist analyses, influenced by , interpret the "girl" in Crying Girl as a passive that critiques in , yet simultaneously risks reinforcing stereotypes of female fragility and submissiveness. These perspectives highlight how the work's ironic detachment celebrates Pop's humor while inviting scrutiny of the in depicting women's romantic despair as both tragic and absurd, prompting reflections on gender dynamics in media and art. Such readings position Lichtenstein's irony as a double-edged tool, challenging patriarchal norms without fully dismantling them. Within Lichtenstein's oeuvre, Crying Girl forms part of a series on romantic despair, linking closely to works like (1963) and Hopeless (1963), where similar motifs of tears, isolation, and speech balloons convey women's entrapment in emotional cycles. These pieces collectively amplify the artist's exploration of vulnerability through flattened forms and primary colors, creating a cohesive critique of melodramatic that recurs across his production.

Exhibitions and Collections

The 1963 offset lithograph Crying Girl debuted as a promotional mailer and invitation for Roy Lichtenstein's second solo exhibition at the Gallery in New York, held from September 28 to October 24, 1963. This edition, printed in colors on lightweight off-white , has since entered numerous institutional collections, including the , where it is held as part of its permanent holdings. The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at also owns an impression, acquired as a gift in 1965 and measuring 18 x 24 inches unframed. The 1964 porcelain enamel on steel version of Crying Girl, produced in an edition of five, was first displayed at the Gallery in 1964 as part of Lichtenstein's exploration into industrial fabrication techniques. One edition (RLCR 845.2/5) has been in the permanent collection of the since its acquisition in 1965 through purchase, where it remains on view as a key example of early multiples. Other editions from this series are held in private collections, with limited public exhibition history due to their scarcity. Provenance records highlight the work's early circulation among contemporaries; for instance, an impression of the 1963 lithograph was gifted by Lichtenstein to Marcus Ratliff, who coordinated its printing and typography. sales underscore its enduring market value: a 1964 enamel edition (numbered 3/5) sold at New York on November 9, 2015, for $13,381,000, reflecting the premium placed on Lichtenstein's legacy in the secondary market. Lithograph impressions have similarly appreciated, with signed examples fetching between $24,000 and $95,750 at recent auctions as of October 2025, such as Rago Arts ($24,130, October 2025), Heffel ($40,000, October 2025), and ($95,750, October 2025). Related preparatory materials are infrequently exhibited. The color separation proof for the lithograph (RLCR 758), a preliminary printing element from 1963, was included in the 2008 exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. It traces provenance to Ratliff before entering private holdings. Similarly, the graphite and colored pencil study for the enamel version (RLCR 843), dated circa 1964 and measuring 5 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches, appeared in the 1968 Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition and is now in a private collection.

References

  1. https://www.nga.gov/artworks/76394-crying-girl
  2. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/264932/crying-girl
  3. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=6039
  4. https://collection.mam.org/details.php?id=13085
  5. https://publicdelivery.org/roy-lichtenstein-crying-girl/
  6. https://www.washington.edu/news/2006/02/23/the-true-colors-of-roy-lichtenstein-2/
  7. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/lichtenstein-roy/
  8. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/pop-art/
  9. https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-roy-lichtenstein/articles/roy-lichtenstein-vs-art-history-influences-appropriations
  10. https://georgetownframeshoppe.com/blogs/exhibits/roy-lichtenstein-crying-girl
  11. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/664/car
  12. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/80249
  13. https://lichtensteinfoundation.org/biography/
  14. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/9857640/Roy-Lichtensteins-lover-He-wanted-to-make-women-cry.html
  15. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=mfa_illustration
  16. https://gagosian.com/quarterly/2019/04/18/roy-lichtenstein-19611965-essay/
  17. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=295
  18. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1035850/crying-woman-print-lichtenstein-roy/
  19. https://news.masterworksfineart.com/2017/10/19/a-closer-look-roy-lichtenstein-crying-girl-1963
  20. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=3597
  21. https://www.composition.gallery/art/roy-lichtenstein-crying-girl-6/
  22. https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artwork/91326/Roy-Lichtenstein-Crying-Girl?lang=en
  23. https://www.artnet.com/artists/roy-lichtenstein/crying-girl-a-KBwb5i0yFqJGWiiiB3v8vg2
  24. https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1994.193
  25. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/resources/?Reference%2BMaterial=Comic%2BBook%2BReferences&REF=CB103
  26. https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=Secret%20Hearts%2088
  27. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/chronology/
  28. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=4966
  29. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=2249
  30. https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_2174_300062808.pdf
  31. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5946128
  32. http://teachers.mam.org/resource/crying-girl-roy-lichtenstein/
  33. https://archive.org/download/roylich00wald/roylich00wald.pdf
  34. https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-roy-lichtenstein/guides/roy-lichtenstein-ladies
  35. https://www.salon.com/2012/03/23/pop_art_feminists_imprint/
  36. https://glasstire.com/events/2018/12/19/pop-art-was-roy-lichtenstein-a-catalyst-for-womens-rights/
  37. https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/90005
  38. https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/search-results/wu-4260-roy-lichtenstein-american-19231997-crying-girl-1963
  39. https://www.ragoarts.com/auctions/2025/10/prints-multiples/228
  40. https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-roy-lichtenstein/artwork-crying-girl-signed-print
  41. https://www.doyle.com/auction/lot/lot-104---roy-lichtenstein-1923-1997/?lot=1422306&sd=1
  42. https://www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/exhibitions/entry.php?id=3158
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