{"product_id":"a-bright-night-c-155-surrealist-series-1978","title":"A Bright Night (C.155, Surrealist Series), 1978","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A Bright Night (C.155, Surrealist Series)\" is a lithograph on Arches 88 paper created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1978. From the edition of 53, the artwork is signed and dated 'rf Lichtenstein '78' and annotated lower right. The artwork is framed in a contemporary black frame and has a framed size of  31.5 x 34\". The artwork ships framed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCreated in 1978, \"A Bright Night\" is a striking work from Roy Lichtenstein’s \"Surrealist Series,\" a group of prints and paintings in which the artist reimagined the visual language of Surrealism through the crisp, graphic precision of Pop Art. Rather than imitating Surrealist dream imagery, Lichtenstein translated its spirit of paradox, displacement, and unexpected association into his own unmistakable vocabulary of bold outlines, flattened forms, stripes, and stylized fragments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe composition is immediately compelling. A fragmented female profile dominates the image, reduced to a sharply outlined nose, lips, and elongated chin. Around her, nautical and beachside motifs—a starfish, anchor, sail-like forms, and a dark blue night sky—appear to float in a shifting, dreamlike space. These elements are recognizable, yet their relationships remain unstable. Objects overlap, dissolve, and reassemble, creating the sensation of a visual puzzle that is both playful and enigmatic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe title, \"A Bright Night,\" reinforces the work’s Surrealist wit. The phrase is a contradiction: night is expected to be dark, yet here it becomes luminous, graphic, and charged with color. Lichtenstein builds the image around that same tension, combining clarity with mystery and familiar imagery with impossible spatial logic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn important detail is the print’s warm tan margin. At first glance, it may appear to be age-toning, but the margin is inherent to the work and was intentionally printed as part of the composition. This artistic choice gives the image a contained, object-like presence and allows the bright whites within the image to stand out more sharply. Rather than serving as a neutral border, the margin becomes part of the visual experience, subtly warming the sheet while heightening the contrast and graphic force of the central image.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe print also reflects Lichtenstein’s experimental approach to printmaking during this period. In the \"Surrealist Series,\" he embraced a more direct, hands-on lithographic process, drawing onto lithographic stones and plates with Spectracolor pencil and tusche. This hands-on process introduced a new level of spontaneity and challenged the artist to rethink the relationship between drawing and printmaking. The result is a work that feels both meticulously designed and unexpectedly alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eElegant, witty, and visually memorable, \"A Bright Night\" demonstrates Lichtenstein’s ability to absorb an art-historical movement and make it entirely his own. It combines the dream logic of Surrealism with the sharp intelligence of Pop, transforming a mysterious nocturnal scene into a bold meditation on image, illusion, and reinvention.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Roy Lichtenstein","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52015931457853,"sku":"LTLIH0155SC","price":98500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1551\/3581\/files\/LTLIH0155SC__P-Image_A_Bright_Night_1978_LTLIH0155SC_NU0028_crop_sm_ed_bl_367148b5-59f2-4acc-9a63-e9324854e25d.jpg?v=1784733777","url":"https:\/\/martinlawrence.com\/products\/a-bright-night-c-155-surrealist-series-1978","provider":"Martin Lawrence Galleries","version":"1.0","type":"link"}