Description

Offset lithograph on glossy paper published by the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Roy Lichtenstein: American Pop Art. Pictured: mr. Bellamy
Dimensions: 60 x 86 cm.

Mr. Bellamy shows a military officer, possibly a pilot (whose line of duty is not clear), wondering which man to report to. As in his other works, Lichtenstein draws the protagonist close to the front of the composition, but in this case he incorporates an atypically elaborated arrangement of forms behind the figure. The comic source for Mr. Bellamy is unknown, but the painting is clearly derived from comics like All-American Men at War, of which he appropriated images at the time. Although the source for Mr. Bellamy has not been identified, based on Lichtenstein's other comic book-based paintings, it is certain that the artist modified the source to create a striking work of art. Typically, he would eliminate distracting details and simplify and unify compositional forms to achieve immediate visual impact and coherence. He would transform what was essentially an illustrative mode into what he conceived of as the comic book style.