Mel Ramos is one of the major figures of the Pop Art movement. In 1961 he started painting comic strip figures like Batman and Superman. Two years later he turned to the representation of pin-up girls, on the assumption that, as with advertisements, they would be more saleable because they presented tantalising feminine sexuality. These commercial pin-ups have been his trademark for decades. From 1966 to 1997 Ramos was Professor of Painting at California State University in Hayward.
In 2010 a cross-section of Ramos’ oeuvre was presented in Germany in the extensive exhibition ‘Mel Ramos: 50 Jahre Pop Art’ staged at the Kunsthalle in Tübingen and the Villa Stuck in Munich. His works are to be found in all major collections, particularly those of American museums.
