08/24/2026
In honor of American Artist Appreciation Month, we’re highlighting Robert Indiana, known for his iconic LOVE imagery and role in shaping American Pop Art. ❤️
Working across painting, sculpture, and printmaking, Robert Indiana (1928-2018) developed a visual vocabulary rooted in bold typography, graphic clarity, and the symbolism of American culture. In 1956, two years after moving to New York, Indiana met Ellsworth Kelly, and upon his recommendation, moved to Coenties Slip, a street at the southeastern edge of Manhattan where artists occupied former sailmaking and industrial lofts.
Like other artists in the neighborhood, Indiana scavenged the area for materials, eventually discovering 19th-century brass stencils. Their forms would become an important part of his visual vocabulary, inspiring the brightly colored numbers and words that became central to his work. Through strong color contrasts and crisp geometric forms, Indiana transformed familiar language into visual icons.
This poster for the exhibition “American Art since 1960” at the Princeton University Art Museum marked the first public appearance of another iconic image: Indiana’s ART design. Indiana created the poster and the catalogue cover for the exhibition, a survey of American art of the 1960s that brought together 40 artists, including Indiana himself.
Swipe to see the preparatory sketch for the poster; DM for inquiry.
📷:
1. Indiana’s design for the poster for the exhibition American Art Since 1960 at Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, N.J., May 1970
2. Robert Indiana, Preparatory drawing for "American Art since 1960", 1970, colored pencil on paper, 11 x 8 1/2 inches
3. Poster for American Art since 1960, 1970. Artwork: © The Robert Indiana Legacy Initiative/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
4. Robert Indiana, “ART,” 1970, oil on canvas, 24 × 24 in. (61 × 61 cm). Photo: Courtesy of Christie’s, New York; Artwork: © The Robert Indiana Legacy Initiative/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
5. Reproduction from original negative/ Hans Namuth Archive, Center for Creative Photography © Hans Namuth Estate