Roy Lichtenstein’s Sweet Dreams Baby! (1965) is a striking example of his ability to merge the visual language of popular culture with the rigor and precision of fine art. In this work, Lichtenstein captures a fleeting moment of intimate expression, transforming it into an iconic image that blurs the line between narrative and abstraction, romance and commentary. Executed with his characteristic bold lines, flat fields of color, and mechanical precision reminiscent of comic strips, the piece exemplifies his fascination with mass-produced imagery and its power to evoke both immediacy and reflection.

The composition presents a tender, cinematic moment, yet the work is far from sentimental. Lichtenstein distills the scene to its essential visual and emotional components, emphasizing graphic clarity and structural harmony. Every contour, every shadow, and every hue is calculated to evoke maximum impact, creating a tension between narrative familiarity and formal abstraction. The speech balloon, a hallmark of his Pop Art style, serves as both a textual anchor and a conceptual bridge, inviting viewers into the intimate dialogue while simultaneously highlighting the constructed nature of the image.

Created in 1965, during a period when Lichtenstein was fully exploring the interplay of romance, media, and consumer culture, Sweet Dreams Baby! reflects his deep engagement with the iconography of mass communication. The work elevates the everyday drama of human emotion into an enduring visual statement, transforming personal experience into a universally recognizable symbol of longing, connection, and the theatricality of contemporary life.

Through Sweet Dreams Baby!, Lichtenstein demonstrates his unparalleled ability to synthesize the immediacy of popular imagery with the lasting impact of high art. The work is at once playful and profound, approachable yet sophisticated, offering a meditation on love, desire, and the enduring resonance of visual culture in the modern era.

Created in 1965, 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 200, this work is published by Original Editions, New York.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Roy Lichtenstein Sweet Dreams Baby!, 1965 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. 38 on pg. 79.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:

Roy Lichtenstein Sweet Dreams Baby!, 1965 is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.