Roy Lichtenstein Spray Can (C.34) 1964 For Sale

Roy Lichtenstein’s Spray Can, along with Girl, illustrates Walasse Ting’s poem ‘Around the U.S.A.’ - which appears in capitalised type on the bottom margin of both pages - in Ting’s unbound poetry anthology 1¢ Life published in 1965. 

In Spray Can, slender manicured fingers curl around an aerosol can – perhaps hairspray or a cleaning product - with the index finger pressing down on the actuator valve to emit a blast of fumes highlighted in the stark white block that gives a bold flatness against Lichtenstein’s signature blue Benday dots. This work, alongside Lichtenstein’s print Girl, was the first example of his use of Benday dots, which evoked the aesthetic of comic-book illustrations through a replication of the mechanical process of printing. Each dot was meticulously applied to canvas by hand using a stencil or small brush, strategically placed to create shade, texture or tonal variations. 

There is a tenderness to the manicured thumb in the foreground and the gentle placement of the far middle finger, which evokes a cradling of the can. The stark lines of the can’s cylinder is mirrored in the thicker outline of the fingers, perhaps indicating the merging of human hand and consumer object in a highly consumerist society.  

Ting’s poetry anthology was published in two editions – regular and deluxe – with the lithographs appearing on white wove paper in the former and white handmade paper in the latter. In the deluxe edition, the print is signed in pencil in the lower right. An inscription also appears along the right margin, printed from the plate in blue: ‘FREZH AIR 1 $ 25 ¢ BY ROY (1)’ An inscription on the trial proof reads "What you think of this page, I can give / you one more color as blue or red or yellow / or you want print in black maybe the / Black more strong & together with another one / or just as it is. Please answer Quick Soon." Lichtenstein confirmed that the annotation on the proof and the inscription printed from the plate were both likely by Walasse Ting. 

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