Reclusive Pop Art Hero Who Gave Us ‘LOVE’ Dies at 89 [VIDEO]

Robert Indiana, a towering figure in the American Pop Art Movement and a self proclaimed "American painter of signs" whose 'LOVE' sculpture became one of the most reproduced works of art of the modern era, has died at his Victorian home in a converted Odd Fellows Lodge on Vinalhaven Island. Indiana reportedly only received $1000 for designing the 'LOVE' stamp and did not bother to trademark the image when he first created it. Read his biography here.

Despite his most famous image and its presence everywhere, Indiana has been an elusive figure in the art world for decades. In 1978, disillusioned with the New York art world, he retreated to Vinalhaven, an island off the coast of Maine, although he said in 2009 that he moved to his house when he needed a place to go after his lease ran out on his five-story studio and gallery in the Bowery section of New York City.

Although he created a wealth of art, the iconic 'LOVE' tended to overshadow his other work which included far darker interpretations of the American dream. He created diamond-shaped paintings with the words “Eat” or “Die” in the 1960s as well as works inspired by the Civil Rights movement. Watch an interview with Robert Indiana here.