Peanuts Pop Art

Pop art started because artists sought to react to the mass consumerism of the 1950s with the goal of putting popular culture on the same level as so-called high culture. Works associated with Pop art are distinguished by their bold imagery, bright colors and seemingly commonplace subject matter. Practitioners endeavored to challenge the status quo. Pop artists broke with the perceived elitism of the previously dominant Abstract Expressionism and made pointed statements about current events. Richard Hamilton's 1956 collage ‘Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?’ is widely believed to have kickstarted this unconventional new style, but Pop art is perhaps most closely identified with American Pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. On 1stDibs, explore a collection of Pop art.

Opinions vary on who the father of Pop art may be. Pop art emerged in the 1950s in Britain and flourished in 1960s-era America as a reaction to postwar mass consumerism. Some argue that Andy Warhol deserves the title because he helped shape the movement during the 1960s. However, other artists like Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton began producing what’s now considered Pop art a decade earlier. Other artists who made important contributions to Pop art include Marta Minujín, Claes Oldenburg, Rosalyn Drexler, James Rosenquist, Peter Blake and Roy Lichtenstein. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of Pop Art.

There was no single founder of Pop art, as many artists contributed to the development of the movement. Richard Hamilton’s 1956 collage Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? is widely believed to have kickstarted the unconventional new style. Although Hamilton and other British artists launched the movement, they were soon overshadowed by their American counterparts.

Pop art is perhaps most closely identified with American artist Andy Warhol, whose clever appropriation of motifs and images helped to transform the artistic style into a lifestyle. Roy Lichtenstein was another prominent American Pop artist. Much like Warhol, Lichtenstein drew his subjects from print media, particularly comic strips, producing paintings and sculptures characterized by primary colors, bold outlines and halftone dots, elements appropriated from commercial printing. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Pop art.