Foot and hand, 1964: Print by Roy Lichtenstein

  • Foot and Hand, 1964, is a print by Roy Lichtenstein depicting a foot standing on a hand

    Foot and Hand, 1964

    Offset lithograph on white wove paper

    Sheet: 17 1/4 x 21 1/2 in. (43.8 x 54.6 cm), Edition of 300; plus unknown number of unnumbered proofs

    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

    BACK TO: LEO CASTELLI GALLERY PRINTS
     
    The composition presents a dramatic close-up of a black boot forcefully pressing down on a hand that reaches toward a handgun. The hand emerges from the sleeve of a vivid yellow jumper, its fingers stretched in a tense, interrupted gesture. Cropped tightly and rendered with sharp black outlines, flat colour and mechanical dot patterning, the image heightens the sense of impact and confrontation. As with many of Lichtenstein’s early 1960s works, the scene isolates a single, emotionally charged moment drawn from comic-book narrative, transforming it into a stark and graphic Pop Art statement.
     
    Roy Lichtenstein’s print was produced as an offset lithograph on white wove paper in an edition of 300, alongside an unknown number of unnumbered proofs. Published by the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, the work was issued in yellow, red and black runs, reflecting the bold, limited palette characteristic of Lichtenstein’s early Pop compositions and reinforcing its place within his breakthrough period.

  • "Everybody has called Pop Art 'American' painting, but it's actually industrial painting."

     

    - Roy Lichtenstein

    The Leo Castelli Gallery played a pivotal role in the career of Roy Lichtenstein. Castelli began representing Lichtenstein in 1962, and his first solo exhibition at the gallery sold out before it opened, firmly establishing him within the New York art scene. Through Castelli’s support, Lichtenstein’s work gained institutional visibility and access to major collectors, positioning him alongside leading figures of the emerging Pop Art movement and cementing his international reputation.