1. Larry Rivers Pop Expressionist

2. Larry Rivers was born Yitzroch Loisa Grossberg in 1923. He changed his name during his career as a jazz saxophonist. In the 1940s, he went from musician to artist. He studied at New York University.

3. Unlike most artists of his time, his works weren’t completely abstract. They included elements of media, like advertisements. Some of his most famous pieces were the meticulously detailed nude portraits of his mother-in-law, Berdie. He drew several of these. Fred and Ginger

4. Rivers was fascinated with American history. Many of his pictures reflect this. Big B Signs Up - 1976 Washington Crossing the Delaware - 1053 Madame Butterfly - 1978

5. Rivers was well known for his sexually blatant and shocking themes. He made sculptures such as “Lampman Loves It,” a nine-foot wire assemblage of a couple engaged in activity, with lightbulbs strategically placed throughout. There were other pieces, too controversial to be described here, like “Memory” and “America’s #1 Problem.” No sense of embarrassment or restraint could be found in his art, which makes him fondly remembered by many art buffs today.

6. Larry Rivers died in 2002 of liver cancer. His death was marked in newspapers across the nation, and many mourned the passing of one of the most daring and contriversial artists of the twentieth century. Make Believe Ballroom - 1989