Description
The Democratic presidential primaries of 1968 were darkened by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., race riots, and protests against the Vietnam War. For the May 24 cover that year, Time magazine featured Senator Robert Kennedy, who was attracting crowds of supporters with his antiwar stance and support of racial equality. The cover artist, Roy Lichtenstein, was as famous and controversial as Kennedy. Beginning in 1961, Lichtenstein had shocked the sensibilities of the art world by basing his pop art paintings upon comic-book illustrations and advertisements. Lichtenstein rarely chose real people as subjects, but he was intrigued by Kennedy's "lively, upstart quality and pop-heroic proportions as part of a legend." In this key drawing for the cover's color separations, Lichtenstein portrayed Kennedy as a cartoon-perfect champion of truth and justice, just weeks before the senator's assassination.
Image
Felt Tip Marker And Graphite On Lightweight Overlay Paper
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine
Record Contributed By
National Portrait GalleryRecord Harvested From
Smithsonian InstitutionKeywords
- Brother Of Us President
- Cabinet Member
- Campaign Director
- Congressional Gold Medal
- Costume
- Dress Accessories
- Dress Accessory
- Equipment
- Government
- Kennedy, Robert Francis
- Law And Law Enforcement
- Lawyer
- Lawyers
- Legislators
- Lichtenstein, Roy
- Literature
- Male
- Men
- Microphone
- Necktie
- Neckties
- New York
- Politics
- Politics And Government
- Portrait
- Portraits
- Presidential Candidate
- Robert Francis Kennedy
- Senators
- Sound Devices
- Tie
- Us Attorney General
- Us Senator
- Writer
- Writers