Editing Roy Lichtenstein (section)

=== Rise to prominence ===
In 1960, Lichtenstein started teaching at [[Rutgers University]] where he was heavily influenced by [[Allan Kaprow]], who was also a teacher at the university. This environment helped reignite Lichtenstein's interest in Proto-pop imagery.<ref name="rlf-chronology"/>
In 1961, he began his first pop paintings using cartoon images and techniques derived from the appearance of commercial printing. This phase would continue to 1965, and included the use of advertising imagery suggesting consumerism and homemaking.<ref name="rlf-Hendrickson" />
Lichtenstein's first work to feature the large-scale use of hard-edged figures and [[Ben Day process|Ben-Day dots]] was ''[[Look Mickey]]'' (1961, [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington, D.C.).<ref name="rlf-Alloway13">{{harvnb|Alloway|1983| p = 13}}</ref> This piece came from a challenge from one of his sons, who pointed to a [[Mickey Mouse (comic book)|Mickey Mouse comic book]] and said; "I bet you can't paint as good as that, eh, Dad?"<ref name="Great-20th-Century-Artists">{{harvnb|Lucie-Smith | 1999}}</ref> That same year, Lichtenstein produced six other works with recognizable characters from gum wrappers and cartoons.<ref name="rlf-Lobel"/>

In 1961, [[Leo Castelli]] started displaying Lichtenstein's work at his gallery in New York. Lichtenstein had his first one-man show at the Castelli gallery in 1962; the entire collection was bought by influential collectors before the show even opened.<ref name="rlf-chronology" /> A group of paintings produced between 1961 and 1962 focused on solitary household objects such as sneakers, hot dogs, and golf balls.<ref>[http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5074051 Roy Lichtenstein, ''The Ring'' (1962)] [[Christie's]] Post War And Contemporary Art Evening Sale, New York, May 13, 2008.</ref> In September 1963, Lichtenstein took a leave of absence from his teaching position at [[Douglass Residential College (Rutgers University)|Douglass College]] at Rutgers.<ref>{{harvnb|Marter|1999|p=37}}</ref>

Lichtenstein's works were inspired by comics featuring war and romantic stories. "At that time," he later recounted, "I was interested in anything I could use as a subject that was emotionally strong – usually love, war, or something that was highly charged and emotional subject matter to be opposite to the removed and deliberate painting techniques".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://artdependence.com/articles/christies-to-offer-kiss-iii-by-roy-lichtenstein/ |title=ArtDependence {{!}} Christie's to Offer Kiss III by Roy Lichtenstein |last=ArtDependence |website=artdependence.com |language=en |access-date=2019-11-09 |archive-date=2019-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109203702/https://artdependence.com/articles/christies-to-offer-kiss-iii-by-roy-lichtenstein/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>