Located at the very heart of the city, deep below Times Square at 42nd Street is Lichtensteins last public work, Times Square Mural, installed in 2002 after a long, but successful collaboration. Lichtenstein was originally invited to design a work of art for the station in 1989. The original collage was designed in 1990 and the initial contract was signed in 19991, but the project was delayed. The artwork was fabricated by the artist in conjunction with Windsor Fireform and Polich Art Works in 1994. The work was stored by the artist and, later by his Estate until 2002 when it was installed on a long and high mezzanine wall where the IRT and BMT subway lines intersect. The work is porcelain enamel on steel and consists of 16 panels, measuring 61 x 534 long.The project was created as a gift from the artist to the people of New York. The giant mural captures the bustling and frenetic spirit of the subway and its environment. The work is a visual feast with nods to both the past and future, with its wealth of retrofuturistic imagery. Lichtensteins work here references historic subway architectural ornament, Art Deco design, the 1939 and 1964 Worlds Fairs, classic scifi comic strips, and more.The central image is a familiar Beaux Arts 42nd Street sign designed by architects Heins amp LaFarge for the original 1904 subway station. Allusions to historic subway mosaics and the unique archways of the original ornate City Hall station are visible on the far left. Running through the center of the mural is a winged capsuleshaped car, reminiscent of illustrations from the Buck Rogers comics by Dirk Calkins and Murphy Anderson dating back to 1948. The car winds it way underground, past an imagined landscape that reminds us of Lichtensteins drawings of Trylon and Perisphere, two geometric sturcutures designed by Harrison amp Fouilhoux Architects for New Yorks 1939 Worlds Fair whose theme was Building the World of Tomorrow. The artist also includes the famous Unisphere from the subsequent space aged 1964 Worlds Fair. On the far right of the mural, we see the profile of a figure reminiscent of Buck Rogers himself, drawing the viewers eye into the picture to survey the collage of future and history layered upon each other.In addition, Lichtenstein provides us with references to and variations on his earlier work. For instance, the futuristic transporter can be directly linked to his painting Emeralds and also his abstract ships in his New York State Mural images. The architectural ornament is adapted from his Entablatures of the 1970s. And he has taken the building and billboard forms from a combination of his Imperfect paintings and his Modern series that began with his poster for the Lincoln Center Film Festival of 1966. Lichtenstein was a true Son of the City. He was born in New York, in 1923 studied at the Parsons School of Design and the Art Students League and died here, in 1997. His work is often viewed as emblematic of midtwentieth century New York, particularly Manhattan, with its emphasis on surface, large scale, mass marketing, and modernistic design. For another view of Times Square, visit artwork by Jacob Lawrence, Jack Beal and Toby Buonagurio located throughout the station.