In a compelling synthesis of precision and playfulness, Roy Lichtenstein’s Water Lilies – Pink Flower (Study) pays homage to Claude Monet’s renowned series of Nymphéas. Executed in 1992, in the final decade of Lichtenstein’s celebrated career, this collaged work transforms the soft, ethereal quality of Monet’s paintings of his Giverny garden into sharp, mechanically precise interpretations. At once dismantling and reimagining Impressionist aesthetics, Lichtenstein’s singular ability to underscore the mediated visual experiences of the late 20th century is embodied in the present work. Affirming the importance of this series within Lichtenstein’s oeuvre, three Water Lily works are held in the collection of the Tate, London. Bearing exceptional provenance, the present work comes from the esteemed personal collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein, where it has resided since its creation.

Created as a preparatory collage for a series of screenprints on aluminium completed the same year, Water Lilies – Pink Flower (Study) demonstrates Lichtenstein’s characteristically meticulous working process. His iconic Ben-Day dots and sharp-edged stripes with their systematic order and repetition are paired with a distinctly metallic palette, achieved through aluminium foil and the mesmerising patterns of swirled stainless steel. Lichtenstein punctuates the monochrome and metallic with bursts of vivid colour: the titular, singular pink flower in the upper left, the yellow and red Ben-Day water lilies and verdant green lily pads. By incorporating metallic materials, Lichtenstein mimics the reflective sheen of his final screenprint. Constituting one of six fully realised compositions in his Water Lilies series, Lichtenstein worked in collaboration with master printmaker Donald Saff. It was at Saff’s studio, Saff Tech, that Lichtenstein was able to produce the swirled stainless steel of the present work that he remembered from the metal dashboards of automobiles from the 1920s and 30s. The studio at Saff Tech individually created each swirl with a drill press in a time-consuming process, creating a dynamic surface that continually catches and redirects light. Here, the maker's hands are visible through the taped edges, cut contours, and layers of collage – a contrast to the mechanical polish of his fully realised works.

Executed nearly a century after Monet’s Nymphéas, Lichtenstein’s Water Lilies – Pink Flower (Study) places the two art historical giants in conversation. Where Monet dissolved form into light and atmosphere, in the present work, Lichtenstein reconstructs nature into stylised symbols using the language of Pop abstraction. In doing so, Lichtenstein synthesises two important themes in his career: the appropriation of art history and the tension between hand and machine. Lichtenstein has repeatedly found influence in Monet’s oeuvre, from the Haystacks to the Rouen Cathedrals; the Water Lilies stand as his most persistent and recognisable tribute. In a syncretic melding of homage and high craft, Water Lilies – Pink Flower (Study) presents in Lichtenstein’s typical Pop aesthetic, a reminder of how mechanised processes mediate our perception of the natural world.