Water Lilies with Cloud, 1992: By Roy Lichtenstein

  • Stylised image of water lilies and lily pads.

    Water Lilies with Cloud, 1992

    Screenprinted enamel on stainless steel

    Framed: 166.4 x 113.7 cm

    Edition of 23; plus 1 BAT, 6 AP, 3 PP, 2 Presentation Proofs, 1 NGA archive proof, 2 STA

    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

    BACK TO: Water Lilies Series
     
    Water Lilies with Cloud (1992) by Roy Lichtenstein is part of the artist’s celebrated Water Lilies series, in which he reinterprets the iconic motif associated with Claude Monet. The familiar panorama of floating lily pads is translated into Lichtenstein’s graphic language of bold contour lines and Ben-Day dots, shifting the emphasis from atmospheric brushwork to Pop Art.
     
    Stylised lily pads drift across a blue field, while a white cloud form appears reflected within the water, introducing a rhythmic counterpoint to the composition. The contrast between organic curves and mechanical patterning creates a measured tension between nature and industrial image-making, with depth suggested but continually flattened by the uniform printed surface.

  • "Generally artists, when they draw, [are] projecting on nature their familiarity with other people's art."

     

    - Roy Lichtenstein

    Executed as screenprinted enamel on processed and swirled stainless steel, the work’s reflective ground enhances its theme of light and water. Fabricated by Saff Tech Arts and issued in a limited edition of 23, Water Lilies with Cloud (1992) exemplifies Lichtenstein’s late-career engagement with art history, material innovation, and the translation of canonical imagery into a contemporary industrial medium.