1928-2018
Pop artist Robert Indiana created the iconic ‘LOVE’ print that is still widely used today for cards, posters and other media. It was originally produced as the 1965 Christmas card for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The US postal service used it as the basis for a stamp in 1973 and Indiana used the same graphic idea for reproductions that replaced ‘Love’ with the word ‘Hope’ as a fundraiser for Barak Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. This project raised more than $ 1,000,000.
Robert Indiana produced many prints, his first prints being created in the 1960s. Many of Robert Indiana’s prints were lithograph prints though he also created silkscreen. All of Indiana’s prints are original prints as Indiana saw printmaking as a distinct medium to create artworks, including the iconic Robert Indiana Love print.
Born Robert Clark in 1923, Indiana served three years in the US army before beginning his artistic studies. Between 1949 and 1954 he attended the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine and Edinburgh University and the Edinburgh College of Art in the UK. He settled in New York City in 1954, where he developed his bold, bright iconic style.
Robert Indiana often used short, simple words such as ‘Eat’ and ‘Hug’ to express his themes. He used two main mediums, stainless steel and silk screen paper. He’s also designed theatrical sets and costumes.
Read the Blog: Robert Indiana – The Art, Prints & The Man .
