This book was published on the occasion of Roy Lichtenstein: Painting with Scattered Brushstrokes at Gagosian, 541 West 24th Street, New York, an exhibition of paintings, a sculpture, watercolors, and other works on paper exclusively from the Collection of the Lichtenstein Family. Titled after a 1984 canvas, the selection focuses on the artist’s use of the brushstroke as a formal and symbolic device. Lichtenstein first approached the brushstroke as subject in 1965, representing this essential element of painting as a means of engagement with issues of style and originality. In these collected works of the 1970s and 1980s, Lichtenstein revisited one of his most iconic motifs with renewed creativity.

The fully illustrated volume features more than forty works that deploy the motif of the brushstroke to explore varied art historical precedents through landscapes, figures, and abstractions. With original works and studies for major paintings and sculptures of the era, the book offers key insights into the artist’s development. A foreword by Larry Gagosian considers Lichtenstein’s legacy, and quotations by the artist and critics appear throughout the book, presenting myriad interpretations of this body of work.