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.
Solar Imp
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in New York, NY
Screenprint in colors on wove paper. Signed by the artist in pencil and also numbered 96/126 in pencil. Published by Lincoln Center List Poster and Print Program, New York. Second ...
Screen, Color
Helen Frankenthaler - Milwaukee Art Museum invitation card, Hand Signed, Framed
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in New York, NY
Offset lithograph invitation card - 2 sided Hand signed by Helen Frankenthaler in ink on the verso A collectors' item when hand signed by the artist Published by the Milwaukee Art Mu...
Lithograph, Offset
Acrobat
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) is one of the most revered abstract painters of the 20th century as well as being one of the most successful and collected female artists. Her current...
Ceramic
Acrobat (detail), Limited Edition Porcelain Plate in bespoke gift box - Abstract
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in New York, NY
This porcelain/ceramic plate makes a gorgeous gift - in a bright blue bespoke box, ready to be gifted. Any fan of Helen Frankenthaler or Abstract Expressionist art would be thrilled!...
Porcelain, Screen, Cardboard, Mixed Media
$7,900
H 9.25 in W 6.25 in
KPM Porcelain Plaque - Proper Woman with Carved Gilt Wood Frame
Located in Jacksonville, FL
Frame Size: Hight: 15.50″ x Width: 12.50″ Frame Thickness: 3″ Picture Size: Hight: 9.25″ x Width: 6.25″ Immerse yourself in the presence of a distinguished gentleman with this exceptional Antique KPM Porcelain Plaque...
Porcelain
$7,000
H 26.5 in W 19.5 in
"Untitled" Richard Serra, Black and White, Sculptural, Simple Abstracted Form
By Richard Serra
Located in New York, NY
Richard Serra Untitled, 1990 Signed and dated lower left, stamped Gemini G.E.L. on the reverse Screen-print on PTI Supra paper 26 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches 430/500 Known for large-scale ...
Paper, Screen
Solitude
By Louise Nevelson
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Caviar20 is excited to be offering this evocative print by the inimitable Louise Nevelson ( 1899-1988) - one of the most revered and unique sculptors of the 20th century. Nevelson i...
Found Objects, Cardboard, Screen
Nick Thomm - HEMISPHERE (MULTI) XL
By Nick Thomm
Located in FITZROY, VIC
Nick Thomm - 'HEMISPHERE' - (Multi) XL SIZE 92cm x 122cm 36" x 48" Limited Edition of #85 Hand Signed & Numbered. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle 308gsm Fine Art Paper. C...
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
$321
H 14.57 in W 20.48 in D 0.04 in
Woman - Offset and Lithograph after Willem De Kooning - 1985
By Willem de Kooning
Located in Roma, IT
Woman is an offset and lithograph print realized on Fabriano Paper after a drawing by Willem De Kooning of 1952. Signed o the plate on the lower. The print suite was realized in a...
Lithograph, Offset
Nick Thomm - STEMS (Rose) Standard
By Nick Thomm
Located in FITZROY, VIC
Nick Thomm 'STEMS' (Rose) 69cm x 92cm (27"×36″) Limited Edition of 322. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle 308gsm Fine Art Paper. Condition: NEW. Worldwide Shipping. Sold Unframed.
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
Nick Thomm - Loom (HYDRA) Standard
By Nick Thomm
Located in FITZROY, VIC
Nick Thomm 'LOOM' (Hydra) 69cm x 92cm (27"×36″) Limited Edition of 305. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle 308gsm Fine Art Paper. Condition: NEW. Worldwide Shipping. Sold Unframed.
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
CHROMATIC - 4 Print Set (XL)
By Nick Thomm
Located in FITZROY, VIC
Nick Thomm CHROMATIC - 4 Print Set (XL SIZE 36" x 48" PER PRINT). Limited Edition #43 of 50. Hand Signed & Numbered. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle 308gsm Fine Art Paper. ...
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
$2,800
H 27.25 in W 27.25 in D 2 in
Richard Paul Lohse - Geometric Abstraction Silkscreen on velin Signed/N, Framed
Located in New York, NY
RICHARD PAUL LOHSE Penetration of Four Interlaced Colour Groups (Durchdringung von vier verschränkten Farbgruppen), 1970 Color Silkscreen on velincarton (thin board) Edition 32/50 P...
Screen
ONYX - Amber (XL)
By Nick Thomm
Located in FITZROY, VIC
Nick Thomm - ONYX - Amber (XL SIZE 36" x 48"). Limited Edition #15 of 25. Hand Signed & Numbered. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle 308gsm Fine Art Paper. Condition: NEW - Unopen...
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
ARCHANGEL (XL Size)
By Nick Thomm
Located in FITZROY, VIC
Nick Thomm ARCHANGEL (XL SIZE 36" x 48"). Limited Edition #22 of 25. Hand Signed & Numbered. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle 308gsm Fine Art Paper. Condition: NEW - Unopene...
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Pigment
Sand & Sea
By Michael David
Located in Phoenix, AZ
encaustic on panel b. 1954, Reno Nevada Michael David is best known for his use of encaustic on large abstract paintings. A practitioner of Abstract Expressionism, David layers bees...
Wood, Wax, Encaustic, Oil