4-Star Love
1961
Oil on canvas
12 × 11 1/8 in. (30.5 × 28.3 cm)
Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Todd Brassner in memory of Doug Rosen (1999.7)
Photo: Courtesy of The Portland Museum of Art, Maine; Artwork: © Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine
Detail from one of Robert Indiana's January 1962 journal entries, exact date unknown
Courtesy Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine
4-Star Love marks the first appearance of the word “love” in Indiana’s work. The four stars, stacked two over two echo the arrangement of orbs in the right-hand panel of the triptych Ra (1960) and the four stars of The American Dream, I (1960–61). The arrangement of the stars also anticipates the stacked letters of the artist’s signature LOVE paintings.