Roy Lichtenstein

Morton A. Mort, from: Expressionist Woodcut Series, by Roy Lichtenstein, 1980.

• Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923-1997).
• Woodcut in colors with embossing on Arches wove paper.
• Hand signed, numbered and dated.
• This work is presented unframed.

This original woodcut in colors with embossing is hand signed in pencil "R. Lichtenstein" at the lower right margin. It is dated ‘80’ [1980] next to the signature. It is also numbered in pencil from the edition of 50, at the lower right margin. There were also 13 numbered artist’s proofs aside from the standard edition.

The subject was printed by James Reid and Christine Fox at the studio of Gemini, G.E.L., Los Angeles, where it was also published. The paper bears the blindstamp of the publisher in the lower left margin and the inkstamp, verso.

This work is often misidentified as a lone landscape within the portfolio of seven woodcuts, which are figurative in nature, however, Morton A. Mort is also a cleverly disguised portrait. Taking the form of a name, the title is a play on the Latin phrase ‘mort on amort’ meaning [death upon death], or ‘on the cusp of death’. With this in mind, the perceived alpine landscape transforms into the face of a reclining figure, with their mouth open ‘on the cusp of death’. This makes this composition special within the series as it truly embodies the German Expressionist interest in the human condition, the inevitability of death and the brevity of life. The Expressionists themselves were directly inspired by another longstanding artistic tradition ‘memento mori’ – used since Classical times as a reminder to enjoy life.

Other impressions of this subject are held in the collections of LACMA, California (Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art), MoMA, New York (Museum of Modern Art, New York, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, The San Francisco Museum of Art, California and Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri.

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Corlett, M. L. (2002). The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein. A Catalogue Raisonné 1948-1997.

New York: Hudson Hills Press

Reference: Corlett 178.

Gemini G.E.L.: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1966–2005.

Washington DC: National Gallery of Art.

Reference: Gemini 886.