Rosenquist painted billboards for a living. From 1957 to 1960 he painted Phillips 66 signs at gas stations from North Dakota to Wisconsin, and got so fast he could paint a Schenley whiskey bottle in his sleep. A fall from a scaffold high above a New York street ended the career. He quit billboard painting and became an artist instead.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1934–2017, American
- Movements
- Works held in
- 28 museums[1]
Biography
He was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in 1933, the only child of amateur pilots of Swedish descent who moved from town to town looking for work. He won an art scholarship in eighth grade for a watercolour of a sunset.
F-111 (1964-65) is ten feet high and eighty-six feet long, painted in oil on canvas with aluminium across twenty-three panels. It was designed to wrap around all four walls of the Castelli Gallery. A fighter-bomber flies through consumer imagery: spaghetti, a light bulb, a girl under a hair dryer. Unlike Warhol and Lichtenstein, Rosenquist combined advertising fragments with surrealist techniques, reflecting the overwhelming bombardment of commercial imagery rather than celebrating it. The painting is now at MoMA. He died in 2017.
Timeline
- 1964Painted "Untitled (Joan Crawford says...)".
- 1974Painted "Sunglasses - Landing Net - Triangle".
- 1987Painted "Welcome to the Water Planet".
- 1998Painted "The Swimmer in the Econo-mist (painting 3)".
- 2000Painted "Stowaway Peers Out at the Speed of Light".
Notable Works
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Where to See James Rosenquist
9 museums worldwide.
-
5 works
Museum of Modern Art
Midtown Manhattan, United States
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4 works
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Upper East Side, United States
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4 works
Yale University Art Gallery
Yale University Art Gallery Swartwout Building, United States
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2 works
Musée National d'Art Moderne
Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
How did james rosenquist die?
James Rosenquist died in 2017 at the age of 83.Is james rosenquist a pop artist?
The biography mentions that, unlike Warhol and Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist combined advertising fragments with surrealist techniques.Is james rosenquist still alive?
No, James Rosenquist died in 2017.What is james rosenquist known for?
The biography states that James Rosenquist is known for combining advertising fragments with surrealist techniques. He reflected the overwhelming bombardment of commercial imagery rather than celebrating it, unlike Warhol and Lichtenstein. His work F-111 (1964-65) is a prime example of this.Where did james rosenquist live?
James Rosenquist moved to New York in 1955.Who was james rosenquist inspired by?
One passage mentions that, when he was a child living in the Plains, James Rosenquist saw mirages that inspired him.When was james rosenquist born?
James Rosenquist was born in 1934 in United States. James Rosenquist died in 2017, aged 83.Who is james rosenquist?
James Rosenquist was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on November 29, 1933. He took art classes at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1948, and between 1952 and 1954, he learned traditional painting techniques from Cameron Booth at the University of Minnesota.Where was james rosenquist educated?
James Rosenquist took classes at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1948. Between 1952 and 1954 he learned traditional painting techniques from Cameron Booth at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.What materials did james rosenquist use?
James Rosenquist painted F-111 (1964-65) in oil on canvas with aluminium.James rosenquist facts?
James Rosenquist won an art scholarship in eighth grade for a watercolour of a sunset. He painted Phillips 66 signs at gas stations from North Dakota to Wisconsin from 1957 to 1960, and could paint a Schenley whiskey bottle in his sleep.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for James Rosenquist.
- [1] museum Toledo Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Institut Valencià d'Art Modern Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum National Gallery of Kosovo Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Cleveland Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] book guggenheim-enquistr00rose Used for: biography.
- [8] book guggenheim-popicons00gugg Used for: biography.
- [9] book guggenheim-rosenquis00rose Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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