Roy Lichtenstein, Haystack #4, 1969, continues his innovative reinterpretation of Monet’s Impressionist haystacks, replacing atmospheric subtlety with a striking interplay of graphic form and commercial technique. The familiar rural subject is rendered with precision—composed of flat planes, bold contours, and Lichtenstein’s signature Ben-Day dots—creating a deliberate sense of artificiality. Unlike the emotive brushwork of the original, Haystack #4 is cool, calculated, and visually crisp, evoking a sense of distance rather than intimacy.

What sets this iteration apart is its bold use of contrast and color modulation to suggest a specific mood or time of day, despite the absence of naturalistic detail. The work is both an homage and a deconstruction—a reflection on how meaning shifts when an iconic subject is filtered through the lens of mass production. Elegant in its restraint and conceptually layered, Haystack #4 invites viewers to reconsider not just the haystack, but the very act of seeing.

Created in 1969, this Lichtenstein pop art screenprint in colors is hand-signed by Roy Lichtenstein (New York, 1923 – New York, 1997) in pencil: ‘rf Lichtenstein’.  Numbered from the edition of 100, this work is published by Original Editions, New York.

Roy Lichtenstein’s Haystack Series (1969) is a bold and conceptual reinterpretation of Claude Monet’s iconic Haystacks, reframed through the visual vocabulary of Pop Art. Rather than capturing the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere with painterly brushstrokes, Lichtenstein translates Monet’s impressionistic softness into a language of hard edges, Ben-Day dots, and synthetic color. Each print in the series reimagines the same rural motif with graphic precision, systematically altering color combinations and patterns to evoke different times of day or seasons—mimicking Monet’s original intent but subverting its method.

By reducing organic forms to industrialized surfaces, Lichtenstein challenges the romanticism of nature and the emotional expressiveness of Impressionism. The Haystack Series becomes a meditation on reproduction, perception, and the history of art itself—transforming a deeply personal and atmospheric subject into a commentary on modern image-making. Elegant in its restraint and conceptually rich, the series exemplifies Lichtenstein’s ability to bridge past and present through irony, intellect, and unmistakable style.

The works in Roy Lichtenstein’s Haystack Series (1969) include: Haystack #1, Haystack #2, Haystack #3, Haystack #4, Haystack #5, Haystack #6, Haystack #6 State I, Haystack #6 State II, Haystack #6 State III, Haystack #7.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Roy Lichtenstein Haystack #4, 1969 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).

1. Corlett, Lee Mary. The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein A Catalogue Raisonee 1948-1997. Hudson Hills Press: New York, 1994. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 68 on pg. 98.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:

Roy Lichtenstein Haystack #4, 1969 is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.