Born in September, 1928, in New Castle, Indiana, American artist Robert Indiana grew up as Robert Clark after which he changed his name to reflect his Midwest roots Showing a love for art at an early age, he studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago followed by a fellowship to pursue art at the Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland He then went on to move to New York where he met Ellsworth Kelly who would be highly influential in the early days of Indiana’s art career He resided in Coenties Slip, a major port that also played a major role in his early works like the assemblage pieces he created using repurposed ship masts and bright-coloured signages created from found brass stencils

While he referred to himself as a ‘painter of signs’ his contribution to the world of pop art, assemblage art and hard-edge painting is immeasurable His works captured the American experience through simple, relatable cultural references all the while addressing important political issues Indiana was also famously known for his use of monosyllabic words like ‘Eat’, ‘Die’ and ‘Love’ to transform them into fine art His signages and sculptures, especially the Love series created first in 1965, created an impact like no other Some of his most popular works include ‘The American Dream I” Created in 1961, this was the first of a larger series and highly critical of the superficiality of life in America ‘The Confederacy : Alabama’, executed in 1965 with his typical disc motifs, was a commentary on the Civil War as the artist was severely affected by the inequality rampant in the country

Indiana distanced himself from the New York art space in 1978 by retiring to the remote Vinalhaven in Maine where he continued to work on paintings and sculptures Here, he completed the Ninth American Dream in 2001, sculptures such as Mars in 1990 and a set of 18 large paintings titled The Hartley Elegies The artist’s works are part of permanent collections of museums aro