Haystack #1, 1969: Lithograph and screenprint on paper by Roy Lichtenstein

  • Roy Lichtenstein, *Haystack #1*, 1969, yellow and white Ben Day dot lithograph and screenprint forming abstract haystacks silhouette
    Haystack #1, 1969
    Lithograph and screenprint on BFK Rives paper, sheet: 52.7 x 77.6 cm
    Edition of 100; plus 10 AP, 1 RTP, 1 PPII, 3 GEL, 1 C
    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
     
    BACK TO: HAYSTACK & CATHEDRAL SERIES
     

    Roy Lichtenstein’s Haystack #1, 1969, is the first print in the Haystack series and presents a highly simplified interpretation of Claude Monet’s iconic subject. The composition is reduced to just two colours, yellow and white, creating a striking visual contrast. Using his signature Ben Day dot technique, Lichtenstein forms the image of the haystacks not through line or shading, but by shifting the density and arrangement of dots against the background. This subtle manipulation allows the outlines of the haystacks to emerge, demonstrating how a complex image can be constructed from minimal visual elements.

     

    Executed as a lithograph and screenprint on BFK Rives paper, Haystack #1 reflects Lichtenstein’s interest in translating Impressionist imagery into a controlled, graphic format. Rather than capturing light through painterly brushstrokes, he recreates atmospheric effects through repetition, pattern, and colour contrast. 

  • "Pop art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something; it looks like the thing itself.”
     
    - Roy Lichtenstein
    Claude Monet’s Haystacks series, painted between 1890 and 1891, is one of the most iconic examples of Impressionism, focusing on the changing effects of light and atmosphere on a single subject. Monet repeatedly painted the same haystack forms at different times of day and in varying weather conditions, capturing subtle shifts in colour, shadow, and tone.