Helen FrankenthalerAltitudes /// Abstract Expressionism Helen Frankenthaler Female Post-War Modern1978
1978
About the Item
- Creator:Helen Frankenthaler (1928, American)
- Creation Year:1978
- Dimensions:Height: 22.25 in (56.52 cm)Width: 30.88 in (78.44 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Saint Augustine, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU121210580872
Helen Frankenthaler
Prolific and pioneering painter Helen Frankenthaler said it was “a combination of impatience, laziness and innovation” that drove her to thin her paints with turpentine so that they would seep into the fabric of an unprimed canvas. Her breakthrough in the early 1950s led the way for a spellbinding new style of painting that would come to be known as Color Field.
Although Color Field is often considered a strain of Abstract Expressionism, Frankenthaler’s work differed from the gestural “Action Painting” that typified the paintings of artists like Willem de Kooning and Lee Krasner. Her vast and immersive expanses of color created at a fearless scale captivated art critics and greatly influenced her peers including Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.
Frankenthaler knew from an early age that she wanted to be a painter. The youngest daughter of a New York State Supreme Court justice, she grew up on Manhattan’s Park Avenue and as a child delighted in the little ways color and form revealed themselves, whether dribbling red nail polish in a sink full of water or drawing her steps from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to her family’s apartment. As a student at Bennington College, her rare vision was enriched by the mentorship of painter Paul Feeley, who gave her lessons in Cubism. After dabbling in art history at Columbia University, she rented a studio downtown and befriended rising New York art stars like Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell, whom she later married.
Characterized by “direct, exuberant gestures,” the Abstract Expressionist technique was all about gusto, and Frankenthaler had it in spades. One of the few women of this era to garner widespread critical acclaim, Frankenthaler had a significant impact on the mid-20th-century art world. She exhibited in the high-profile 1951 Ninth Street Show and, in 1957, she appeared in a Life magazine spread on women artists photographed by Gordon Parks. In 1960, the Jewish Museum held her first major museum show, a retrospective of her 1950s work. A 1969 solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art further introduced Frankenthaler to the broader art world.
While Frankenthaler remains best known for bold, expressive “soak-stain” paintings such as Mountains and Sea (1952), she worked across diverse media for decades, with forays into woodcutting, drawing and printmaking that also pushed boundaries. She also taught at Harvard, Yale and Princeton, fostering generations of artists. She died in 2011.
Find original Helen Frankenthaler art on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Saint Augustine, FL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Red and Black II /// Abstract Expressionist Lynn Chadwick British Minimalism ArtBy Lynn ChadwickLocated in Saint Augustine, FLArtist: Lynn Chadwick (English, 1914-2003) Title: "Red and Black II" Series: Red and Black *Signed and dated by Chadwick in pencil lower right Year: 1963 Medium: Original Lithograph ...Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Handmade Paper
- Mon Jardin Zoologique /// Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Animal Modern ArtBy Serge HelenonLocated in Saint Augustine, FLArtist: Serge Helenon (French, 1934-) Title: "Mon Jardin Zoologique" *Signed by Helenon in pencil lower right Year: 1989 Medium: Original Carborundum Engrav...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsEngraving, Handmade Paper, Intaglio
- Présence /// French Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Engraving Colorful ArtBy Serge HelenonLocated in Saint Augustine, FLArtist: Serge Helenon (French, 1934-) Title/Portfolio: "Présence" *Each work is signed by Helenon in pencil lower left Year: 1985 Medium: The Complete Portfolio of Three Original Car...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsHandmade Paper, Engraving, Intaglio
- Untitled (Fresh Air School) /// Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Walasse TingBy Walasse TingLocated in Saint Augustine, FLArtist: Walasse Ting (Chinese-American, 1929-2010) Title: "Untitled (Fresh Air School)" Portfolio: Fresh Air School *Unsigned edition Year: 1972 Mediu...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- Rose Art Museum (Open Wall) Poster /// Helen Frankenthaler Female Abstract ArtBy Helen FrankenthalerLocated in Saint Augustine, FLArtist: (after) Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928-2011) Title: "Rose Art Museum (Open Wall)" Year: 1981 Medium: Original Offset-Lithograph, Exhibition Poster on light wove paper Li...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsOffset, Lithograph
- Untitled (SF-348) (Fresh Air School) /// Abstract Expressionist Sam Francis ArtBy Sam FrancisLocated in Saint Augustine, FLArtist: Sam Francis (American, 1923-1994) Title: "Untitled (SF-348) (Fresh Air School)" Portfolio: Fresh Air School *Unsigned edition Year: 1972 Mediu...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- "Diana, " Lithograph on Japon, 1973 by Antoni TapiesBy Antoni TàpiesLocated in Long Island City, NYThis lithograph was created by Catalan artist Antoni Tapies. Tàpies started as a surrealist painter, and his early works were influenced by Paul Klee and Joan Miró. However, he soon ...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsRice Paper, Lithograph
- Three Poems: Nocturne IIIBy Robert MotherwellLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Robert Motherwell, American (1915 - 1991) Title: No. 3 from Three Poems, collaboration with Octavio Paz Year: 1987 Medium: Lithograph on Japon with Chine Colle Edition: 750 I...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsRice Paper, Lithograph
- Three Poems: Nocturne V, Framed Lithograph by Robert MotherwellBy Robert MotherwellLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Robert Motherwell, American (1915 - 1991) Title: No. 6 from Three Poems, collaboration with Octavio Paz Year: 1987 Medium: Lithograph on Japon with Chine Colle Edition: 750 I...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsRice Paper, Lithograph
- No. 1 from Three Poems (Red Wind), Framed Lithograph by Robert MotherwellBy Robert MotherwellLocated in Long Island City, NYNo. 1 from Three Poems (Red Wind) by Robert Motherwell, American (1915–1991) Portfolio: Three Poems - Octavio Paz Date: 1988 Lithograph on Masa Dosa paper, mounted to board Edition o...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsRice Paper, Lithograph
- Return, from the Octavio Paz Suite (unique signed position proof) Engberg/BanachBy Robert MotherwellLocated in New York, NYRobert Motherwell Return, from the Octavio Paz Suite, 1988 Lithograph and chine appliqué on watermarked Japanese Gampi hand made paper applied on Arches paper Hand-signed by artist, ...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsHandmade Paper, Lithograph
- Three Poems: Burnt WaterBy Robert MotherwellLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Robert Motherwell, American (1915 - 1991) Title: No. 10 from Three Poems, collaboration with Octavio Paz Year: 1987 Medium: Lithograph on Japon with Chine Colle Edition: 750 ...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsRice Paper, Lithograph