"Times Square Mural" captures the spirit of the subway, its linear movement, and dynamic energy. With a nod to both the past and the future, its central image is a futuristic bullet-shaped car zipping through an underground station. And not just any station: Times Square, in the heart of New York City. 

Roy Lichtenstein was born in New York in 1923 and spent his last years in the city. "Times Square Mural" reflects his career, with references to and variations on his earlier works. Lichtenstein also freely appropriated and incorporated images from the works of other artists and designers in his work. For instance, the hooded figure at the right of the mural is from the old Buck Rogers comic strips, while the iconic "42" image is from a series of drawings of the architectural detail of the subway. It is a signature work that honors its creator and the place in which it is located. 

A New York City native, Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was one of the most influential and innovative artists of the second half of the 20th century. Lichtenstein studied at the Art Students League and went on to attend and make art at Ohio State University. His academic life was interrupted by World War II and service in the infantry. 

During the 1960s, he became a leading figure in the Pop Art, a movement he helped originate. His first fully achieved paintings were based on imagery from comic strips and advertisements, and rendered in a style mimicking the crude printing processes of newspaper reproduction. Lichtenstein produced precise compositions that documented while they parodied, often in a tongue-in-cheek manner. These paintings reinvigorated the American art scene and altered the history of modern art.

Lichtenstein’s success was matched by his focus and energy, and after his initial triumph in the early 1960s, he went on to create an oeuvre of more than 5,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, murals, and other objects celebrated for their wit and invention. His artwork is part of numerous collections and exhibitions around the world.