Pop Art icon Robert Indiana, creator of LOVE, dies at 89

Robert Indiana, the Pop Art artist best known for his iconic LOVE sculpture, died on May 19, 2018, at his home in Vinalhaven, Maine, at age 89. Born Robert Clark in 1928, he adopted the name Indiana after his home state. His LOVE image originated as a Christmas card for the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1964 and became a global symbol. Indiana himself called it the most plagiarized artwork of the 20th century, according to The New York Times. A piece from the LOVE series sold at auction for $4.1 million in 2011. In 1973, he created a Valentine's Day stamp for the US Postal Service, which became one of the most popular stamps in the country. Beyond LOVE, Indiana explored words like EAT, which became the title of a 1964 Andy Warhol film featuring the artist eating a mushroom. Warhol also made a four-minute portrait titled Bob Indiana Etc. Indiana's early work in the 1960s reflected his fascination with American culture, combining symbols, letters, and words with political and social references. He was a prolific printmaker, particularly in silkscreen. A major retrospective was held at the Whitney Museum in 2013. In Italy, his work was recently shown in the exhibition LOVE at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome. Tributes poured in on social media, including from curator Angela Vettese.