 Drowning Girl depicted the advancement of Lichtenstein 's cartoon work , which represented his 1961 departure from his abstract expressionism period , from animated cartoons to more serious themes such as romance and wartime armed forces . Lichtenstein said that , at the time , " I was very excited about , and very interested in , the highly emotional content yet detached impersonal handling of love , hate , war , etc . , in these cartoon images . " Lichtenstein parodied four Picassos between 1962 and 1963 . Picasso 's depictions of weeping women may have influenced Lichtenstein to produce portrayals of vulnerable teary @-@ eyed women , such as the subjects of Hopeless and Drowning Girl . Another possible influence on his emphasis on depicting distressed women in the early- to mid @-@ 1960s was that his first marriage was dissolving at the time . Lichtenstein 's first marriage to Isabel Wilson , which resulted in two sons , lasted from 1949 to 1965 ; the couple separated in 1963 . 
