«GOOD BUSINESS IS THE BEST ART»

ROY Lichtenstein's 1964 painting Ohhh … Alright … has sold for a record $US42.6 million, soaring past his previous auction peak of $16.3 million.The late pop artist's comic-strip-inspired rendering of a pouty redhead, once owned by actor and art collector Steve Martin, was sold by American casino magnate Steve Wynn. The painting comes from a series of breakthrough works Lichtenstein created using images from comic books.Many of the paintings feature stock female types, often paired with a dialogue bubble. Though the work was an instant commercial hit, with the $US4000 canvases flying off the walls at New York's Leo Castelli Gallery, the artist's brazenly banal subject matter and mechanical Benday-dot style irked the mainstream.In 1964, Life magazine ran an article about Lichtenstein headlined: ''Is he the worst artist in the US?''

The Age
November 12 2010