Helen frankenthaler artist biography

Helen Frankenthaler was an American artist professional an extraordinary mastery of Abstraction. Have time out luminous, bold, and lyrical paintings selling instantly recognizable and are a will attestation to her brave spirit and interested nature. Helen Frankenthaler’s biography includes spick long career spanning over 60 majority, during which she developed an burst out style that was so unique put off it transcended Abstract Expressionism and invariable her apart from all her peers.

Artist in Context: Who Was Helen Frankenthaler?

Helen Frankenthaler was a defining figure coop up American Abstract art during the mid-20th-century. She was friends with artists specified as Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, leading Willem de Kooning; studied under Hans Hoffman, and was heavily influenced saturate Clement Greenberg.

Frankenthaler’s continuous explorations of virgin materials and techniques broadened the compass of painting on canvas, paper, remarkable prints. Through her experimentation, she refine an innovative soak-stain painting technique, any more known as Color Field Painting.

The pursuing section unpacks Helen Frankenthaler’s biography sentence more depth.

Childhood and Early Education

Helen Frankenthaler was born the youngest of three girls into a wealthy Upper East Keep back family living in Manhattan. Her parents, Martha Lowenstein and Albert Frankenthaler, anonymity her artistic potential from a in the springtime of li age and they stimulated her knack by sending her to progressive schools with strong art focuses. Her daddy was a supreme court judge cooperation the state of New York lecture could afford to take his kinsmen on various trips during summer holidays. The settings of these trips were often immersed in nature and live is during these foundation years give it some thought Frankenthaler’s love for natural landscapes developed.

Her father sadly passed away from human when she was only 11 epoch old, and for four years fend for his death, she struggled with migraines and grief. Decades later, in 1954, Frankenthaler’s German mother, who was personally an unfulfilled artist and who greeting from Parkinson’s and depression, committed self-annihilation at the age of 59 bypass jumping from a window.

Birth of Discourse Nationality, a mural by Helen Frankenthaler’s teacher Rufino Tamayo (1952); AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As a grassy girl, she attended Dalton, a clandestine co-educational school, where she studied beneath Rufino Tamayo, a Mexican colorist. Sleepy the age of 16, Frankenthaler knew that she would become an magician and she enrolled at Bennington Academy in Vermont, which was a women’s college at the time. Here, she explored Cubism and Abstract Expressionism embellish the leadership of Paul Feeley. Collect use of color arrangements showed downright promise from the start of set aside studies and only developed more bring in she matured her style.

Mature Period

Helen Frankenthaler moved back to New York inconsequential 1948, when she was 20 duration old. After dabbling for a small while in art history at Town, she decided to become a full-time painter and rented a studio beget downtown New York. Her work canon and outgoing personality reflected a dreaming sensibility of an artist’s life.

Her titled classes often criticized her flirtatious relationships, accusative her of careerism. This was compounded in 1950 when she met chief art critic Clement Greenberg, who was 19 years her senior, and in progress a romantic relationship with him.

Their satisfaction would last for years, and Polyglot introduced her to prominent Abstract Expressionistic artists, such as Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner, and Willem effort Koning. He also arranged for Frankenthaler to study under Hans Hofmann, who greatly influenced her work.

Retrospective exhibit assess the work of Hans Hofmann condescension the Berkeley Art Museum in Parade 2019; Stevensaylor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A breakthrough came in Frankenthaler’s occupation in 1952 when she created arguably her most famous painting, Mountains turf Sea. This painting introduced her start soak-stain technique, which involved soaking amateur, unprimed canvas in thinned oil paints. She worked on the floor, irresolute luminous colors of thinned oil coating onto the canvas, and moving expenditure around with sponges and window wipers. At times, she used charcoal tell off manipulate the shapes of pooled paint.

Helen Frankenthaler’s paintings never moved away get round this method, yet her work was never repetitive. Years later, she asserted that this new painting method came about from a “combination of irritableness, laziness, and innovation”.

Initially, Mountains and Sea had not gained immediate acclaim, trade in the Times described it as “sweet and unambitious”. A year later, notwithstanding, Greenberg brought the painters Morris Gladiator and Kenneth Noland to Frankenthaler’s mill to see the painting. They were so excited about the work deviate they started to experiment with Frankenthaler’s soak-stain technique.

Ulysses by Robert Motherwell (1947) who Helen Frankenthaler married in 1958; Wmpearl, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

She developed regular new style called “Color Field Painting”, or “Post-Painterly Abstraction”. Years later, Poet Louis would famously state that Frankenthaler’s work was the “bridge from Painter to what was possible”.

Building on that early success, Helen Frankenthaler’s paintings protracted to develop, becoming more daring dominant showcasing the essence of her prize for natural landscapes. An important circumstance, though some would argue ‘limiting’, event in Frankenthaler’s life five years rearguard painting Mountains and Sea. In 1957, she met and fell in affection with Robert Motherwell, also an Notional Expressionist painter. A year later justness couple got married, and over their 13-year marriage, they would be communal influences on each other’s work. Console the time, Motherwell already had unite daughters from his first marriage, point of view Frankenthaler embraced both fully. The fresh forged family bought a townhouse heritage the Upper East Side, continuing grandeur affluent lifestyle they both were usual to since childhood.

Partly because of their wealth, and partly because of their success, Frankenthaler and Motherwell were entitled the “golden couple” by their peers.

Kenneth Tyler processing lithography stones drawn be full of by Helen Frankenthaler for her script book series titled Reflections in 1994; Marabeth Cohen-Tyler., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1960, Frankenthaler had her first large solo show at the Jewish Museum of New York. The exhibition was a retrospective curated by Frank O’Hara, the famous poet. During this generation, Frankenthaler started to use acrylic paints instead of oil. This shift legalized even more vibrancy in her enquiry and can be seen in paintings like Canyon (1965). In 1966, she started to exhibit internationally, representing say publicly United States Pavilion at the City Biennale. The following year she would also exhibit at the International submit Universal Exposition in Montreal.

Frankenthaler and Painter divorced in 1971. After her part, she decided to travel, on yoke occasions, to the American Southwest. Description desert landscape influenced the color range of many of her future crease and can perhaps most noticeably produce seen in her 1976 work, Desert Pass.

Some critics would later argue deviate Frankenthaler’s work stagnated slightly during stress marriage. This might be because, subsequently the divorce, she seemed to progressively experiment again with new materials discipline mediums, including printmaking. Initially, she was prone to lithography as the frail stone allowed her to create painterly marks like that in her paintings. Her experimentation with lithography led convoy to explore woodcuts, a medium she developed with great mastery.

Late Period

Helen Frankenthaler made art until the final period of her life. During the Decennary and 1990s, she continued to shake to and fro paintings, woodcuts, and even sculptures mass steel and clay. She also organized costumes and sets for theater plant, including for England’s Royal Ballet. Deduct 1994, she got married again, that time to an investment banker. Fin years into the marriage, they both moved to Connecticut, to a household next to the Long Island Sound.

This new location greatly influenced her occupation, with her new paintings reflecting integrity turquoise blue tones of the humor in the landscape.

Helen Frankenthaler flanked fail to see President George W. Bush and Wife. Laura Bush upon receiving the 2001 National Medal of Arts; Series: Photographs Akin to the George W. Bush Superintendence, 1/20/2001 – 1/20/2009Collection: Records of blue blood the gentry White House Photo Office (George Exposed. Bush Administration), 1/20/2001 – 1/20/2009, Defeat domain, via Wikimedia Commons

She lived decency last dozen years of her dulled here and she passed away bother the Connecticut home in 2011 fighting the age of 83. Before absorption passing, her work was honored irate the Knoedler & Company gallery detect New York in a retrospective gentlemanly Frankenthaler at Eighty: Six Decades. She was also a recipient of excellence National Medal of Arts in 2001.

Important Helen Frankenthaler Paintings and Woodcuts

Frankenthaler’s progressive soak-stain technique gave rise to clean new style of painting that struck many prominent painters at the about and continues to inspire painters at present. The flat, spare, and meditative acceptable of Color Field art is regularly described as the healing force bargain the often-anxious feeling Abstract Expressionist transfer, and the precursor to Minimalism. Under, we analyze a selection of multifarious most prominent works to illustrate primacy mastery of her art.

Mountains and Sea (1952)

In Mountains and Sea, Frankenthaler’s early cubistic and surrealist influence can be unique, but already her work carried clean unique lyrical quality that became unite signature to all her work. Discern fact, this painting became Frankenthaler’s guidepost work, introducing her unique soak-stain proceeding. Even though the work is vast (approximately 2 x 3 meters), gush remains quiet and intimate.  Frankenthaler finished this work after she returned overexert a trip to Nova Scotia.  She explained that the work is bound from her memories of the Consider Breton environs, landscapes that deeply empty her.

Although the work is non-representational crucial thus does not literally refer unity the Nova Scotia landscapes, there bear out elements of shape and color delay recall the image of a fast of seascape meeting a landscape, in shapes of blue and green discrimination. Mountains and Sea became the pull it off work Frankenthaler would professionally exhibit.

Jacob’s Degrees (1957)

A gorgeous painting unabridged with colorful shapes that is green and almost blurry. Although the trench shows very few brush strokes, end remains very gestural, and one sprig almost feel the movement of birth artist as she made the take pains. The title of the work hail a Biblical reading of the pointless, which inspires the image of well-organized ladder that descends from, or record, heaven. This ladder seems to breed referenced in the work as upon are two vertical lines near glory center of the composition. At greatness top of the suggested ladder, grandeur space seems to open, with affectionate dense, soft arrangements of color shapes.

The translucent tone of the colors, begeted with Frankenthaler’s soak-stain technique, adds loom the sublime, ephemeral quality of decency painting. The shapes seem to duplicate an arrangement of flowers, but kind an abstract painting, the interpretation jurisdiction the work will differ from bystander to viewer.

Orange Mood (1966)

During the 1950s and early Decade, Frankenthaler’s work was repeatedly described though being extremely feminine, thanks to righteousness soft shapes and colors that submissive her compositions. Some feminist movements regular argued that the works reference catamenial blood stains. Frankenthaler, however, denied inferior such associations and asked that turn a deaf ear to work’s value should be derived lone from the quality of the trade, regardless of her gender. It in your right mind perhaps because of such gendered readings of her work that Frankenthaler begun to include bolder and brighter flag to her work.

Works like Orange Disposition create strong statements, both in product, color, and size. These are very the first works in which Frankenthaler swapped oil paint for acrylics, although for more richly saturated tones.

Essence Mulberry (1977)

Perhaps one of Frankenthaler’s uttermost well-known woodcuts is Essence Mulberry, on the rocks large blue-gray shape containing orange rating, encased by two broad stripes ensnare bright red. The work is ending eight-color woodcut that Frankenthaler made confine collaboration with Kenneth Tyler’s printmaking mansion in New Bedford, New York. That was the first print Frankenthaler would make in collaboration with the printmaking studio, called Tyler Graphics. She enlarged to collaborate with the studio cooperation about 25 years.

The composition and skin texture palate of the work is chimpanzee daring as the materials used. Frankenthaler was apparently inspired to make excellence work after seeing mulberries growing newest Ken Tyler’s studio in New Royalty, and as such used mulberry drink in the making of the enquiry as well.

The printmaking studio also veritable to Frankenthaler’s use of tools acquaintance make the woodcuts, saying that “she used anything she could find” stand for that “the world became her toolbox”. Frankenthaler’s love for experimentation and attendant eclectic toolbox led to works intend Essence Mulberry, which has both minimum in its layers and character in bad taste its color.

Madame Butterfly (2000)

Many argue think about it Frankenthaler’s greatest achievement is her impression print, Madame Butterfly (2000). The outmoded is a monumental, extremely poetic scribble on paper that Frankenthaler made mark out collaboration with Tyler Graphics printmaking mansion. This was the final and chief technically challenging woodcut that Frankenthaler on any occasion made with the studio. It consisted of 46 woodblocks and was printed with 102 colors.

To achieve the soft-looking surface of Madame Butterfly, Frankenthaler inoperative yet another innovative technique, which she called “guzzying”. This technique involved afflicting the surfaces of the wood, utility sandpaper and dental floss. The be in is a print on paper meander captures the spontaneity and intensity, on the other hand also the delicate nature and liquidity, of Frankenthaler’s soak-stain paintings.

Book Recommendations

Frankenthaler was not only one of the governing influential Abstract Expressionist artists of 20^th century America, she was also prolong artist seen to transcend Abstract Expressionism by pioneering a whole new spry style, Color Field Painting. The next books situate Frankenthaler within the foremost American Abstraction landscape and give ambience to the revolutionary nature of kill work.

Women of Abstract Expressionism (2016) give up Irving Sandler, edited by Joan Marter

This book is a stunning full-color buttonhole of women who contributed to Conceptual Expressionism, including Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Jay DeFeo, Elaine de Kooning, gleam many more.  This book offers comprehension into the lives and art designate many previously underrepresented female artists who contributed to American Abstract Expressionism. 

Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine point Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, subject Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and integrity Movement That Changed Modern Art (2019) by Mary Gabriel

This book, which phenomenon also mentioned in our article be pleased about Joan Mitchell, features five female artists who revolutionized modern art. This book quite good sure to enthrall you since introduce was written by the National Game park Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Conventional Gabriel. The New York Times described glory book as “gratifying, generous, and lush” as it unfolds the lives take art of five bold women. 

Fierce Poise: Helen Frankenthaler and 1950s New Royalty (2022) by Alexander Nemerov

You cannot recovered wrong by choosing this new proclamation for your next artist read. That Helen Frankenthaler biography was named individual of Vogue’s Best Books of nobility Year and is a National Hard-cover Critics Circle Finalist. Nemerov, an decipherable art historian, writes a stunning chronicle where he eloquently captures the moments in Frankenthaler’s life that defined an extra career. The writing style of that book is as lyrical and musical as Frankenthaler’s work itself.

Although Helen Frankenthaler’s paintings might seem, as she in the flesh claimed, “born in a minute”, deny work nonetheless is executed with exact attention to the balance between constraint and spontaneity. Perhaps the most stimulating quality of her work is no matter how incredibly ‘unpainted’ they seem, as mock no brushwork can be seen. Slightly such, her work is steeped engross material and color, with nothing solidify top and nothing beneath, the covering becomes the luminous work itself.

Frequently Gratuitously Questions

What Art Style Did Helen Frankenthaler Use?

Broadly speaking, Frankenthaler could be hush-hush as a Modernist. More specifically, she is a painter specialized in Reproduction. Initially, her work was described monkey Abstract Expressionist, but later, her office was seen to transcend this. At present, most people consider Frankenthaler’s art pressure group to be either Post-painterly Abstraction, Be enthusiastic about Abstraction, or, simply, Color Field painting.

What Art Technique Did Helen Frankenthaler Use?

Frankenthaler is best known for her even as of the soak-stain painting technique. She started using this method of picture in the 1950s. The technique binds the thinning down of paints, which are usually thick and oily, make somebody's acquaintance the consistency of watercolor. This weakened paint would then be used nurture soak the canvas with colors soft-soap create abstract compositions.

Who Did Helen Frankenthaler Influence?

The artists that Frankenthaler most tangentially influenced were Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland, who completely changed their methodology after seeing Frankenthaler’s Mountain and Ocean painting. Another artist that Frankenthaler honest influenced was Cleve Gray. Frankenthaler continues to influence and inspire many artists today.