James Rosenquist

Biography

James Rosenquist (1933–2017) was an American painter and printmaker and one of the leading figures of the Pop Art movement. Born on November 29, 1933, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, he studied at the University of Minnesota and the Art Students League in New York.

Before becoming a fine artist, Rosenquist worked as a commercial billboard painter, an experience that strongly influenced his later work. He transformed the large scale, vivid colors and advertising imagery of billboards into paintings that combined fragments of advertisements, consumer products and popular culture.

Rosenquist became prominent in the 1960s alongside artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. His famous works include F-111, Marilyn Monroe, I and U-Haul-It. His art often explored consumerism, advertising, technology, war and modern American culture.

He received major exhibitions and international recognition throughout his career, and his works are held in leading museums around the world. Rosenquist died on March 31, 2017, in New York City, aged 83. He is remembered as one of the most influential artists of American Pop Art.