The Lichtenstein foundation notes that the inspiration for this painting is a frame of Our Fighting Forces #66 (February 1962), which was published by National Periodical Publications (now DC Comics). In that frame only a portion of the dog's head is visible and the speech balloon says "Grrrrr!"[1] In addition to the painting itself, Lichtenstein produced a small 5.75 in × 4.5 in (14.6 cm × 11.4 cm) graphite on paper study.[2]
The painting was bequeathed to the Guggenheim Museum after Lichtenstein's 1997 death, following a promise made in 1992. The museum used Grrrrrrrrrrr!! in the promotional posters for the 1993 exhibition "Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective", which ran from October 7, 1993 – January 16, 1994.[3][4] Other notable exhibitions where this work was shown include "Rendezvous: Masterpieces from the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Guggenheim Museums" which ran from October 16, 1998 – January 24, 1999 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, as well as "Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation" which traveled to several museums in China between 2007 and 2008.[5][6]
The work appeared on the cover of the November 1993 issue of ARTnews.[7][8]