Apple and Lemon, 1982: Woodcut on paper from the Seven Apple Woodcuts series

  • Apple and Lemon, 1982, is a woodcut on paper by Lichtenstein depicting an apple and a lemon in the background

    Apple and Lemon, 1982

    Woodcut on handmade Iwano Kizuki Hosho paper, sheet: 79.4 x 106 cm (irregular)

    Edition of 60; plus 1 BAT, 14 AP, 1 PP, 4 Dedication Proofs

    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

    BACK TO: SEVEN APPLE WOODCUT SERIES
     

    Apple and Lemon, 1982 is a woodcut print by Roy Lichtenstein from the Seven Apple Woodcuts series, in which the artist transforms a traditional still life subject into a bold Pop Art composition. The foreground is dominated by an apple outlined in deep royal blue, with additional blue and red brushstrokes suggesting form and contour. A short yellow stroke indicates the stem, emphasising Lichtenstein’s approach of constructing objects through simplified painterly marks rather than naturalistic modelling.

     

    Just behind the apple sits a lemon, defined by a strong black outline and filled with a flat yellow tone interrupted by a single expressive brushstroke. The background is built up from sweeping green brushstrokes that create a sense of movement while still maintaining the graphic clarity typical of Lichtenstein’s work. Despite the bold visual language, Lichtenstein described these woodcuts as “quiet and elegant”, reflecting the restrained composition and careful balance of colour within the still life.

  • "The importance of art is in the process of doing it, in the learning experience where the artist interacts with whatever is being made." 

     

    - Roy Lichtenstein

    Lichtenstein often used colours that were not necessarily realistic to the objects he depicted, choosing instead bold, unexpected tones that enhanced the graphic quality of the image. In works such as Apple and Lemon, the fruit is outlined in strong blues and accented with bright reds and yellows rather than natural shading. This approach shifts the focus away from realism and towards design, allowing colour to define form, structure and visual rhythm within the composition.