American Painter Larry Rivers

Rivers has a new autobiography, "What Did I Do?" He's known by art historians as "a great figurative painter," "the father of Pop Art," and is recognized as the first American artist to use vulgar objects in an artistic context. Rivers was part of a loosely knit association of poets and painters in New York in the 50's. His book looks back at his work as a jazz saxophonist, his drug use, and his unashamed interest in sexuality.

Larry Rivers began his career as a jazz saxophonist before becoming a painter at twenty-three. He says he was drawn to the solitary nature of making art and how art could draw from a broader range of experiences than jazz.

Works by the Swedish-born artist include an oversized rubber stamp in Cleveland, a clothespin in Philadelphia and a flashlight in Las Vegas. Oldenburg died July 18. Originally broadcast in 1992.