D
© Copyrighted Artwork
This artwork is protected by copyright. We cannot display images of works by artists who passed away after 1954.
See the original at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York
Drowning Girl
by Roy Lichtenstein, 1963
Details
- Year
- 1963
- Medium
- Oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas
- Size
- 171.6 cm × 169.5 cm
Roy Lichtenstein cropped and adapted this image from a 1962 romance comic, showing a woman's face emerging from stylized blue waves. Her thought bubble reads: "I don't care! I'd rather sink than call Brad for help!" The melodrama becomes both parody and genuine emotion at this scale.
Lichtenstein simplified the original panel, removing a boyfriend from the scene and intensifying the colors. The Ben-Day dots, black outlines, and limited palette flatten everything into graphic design. Yet somehow the image retains emotional power, the woman's expression genuinely distressed despite the artificial style.
It hangs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
