Roy Lichtenstein transformed Pop art from a style to a full-blown artistic movement. “Pop Art looks out into the world,” he said. “It doesn’t look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.” Detractors refused to understand and called his work vain and vulgar. In 1964, an article in Life magazine pointedly asked, “Is He the Worst Artist in the U.S.?” Born in New York in 1923, Lichtenstein began his career drawing portraits of jazz musicians. As he began to experiment with Pop Impressionism, he included many cartoon images as well as his signature Ben Day-dot printing technique, which resembled comic book illustrations. His work exploded in popularity. While these paintings remain widely admired, Gagosian is highlighting lesser-known works that Lichtenstein made with scattered brushstrokes. These pieces still feature his eye for vivid colors and textured dots, but now take rhythm from the paintbrush. —Maggie Turner