art | helen frankenthaler 1928-2011

in admiration of one of my favorite artists...
helen frankenthaler 
1928-2011

'the landscapes were in my arms as i did it.'
-helen frankenthaler

helen frankenthaler | mountains and sea | oil and charcoal on canvas | 1952
national gallery of art | washington DC
photo by wsj 

helen frankenthaler | mountain storm | oil on canvas | 1955
sold for US$511,500 | sale 1301 lot 26 | christie's new york | 11 november 2003
photo by christie's

helen frankenthaler | jacob's ladder | oil on canvas | 1957
museum of modern art | new york NY
photo by moma

helen frankenthaler | saturn revisited | acrylic on canvas | 1964
sold for US$662,500 | sale 2048 lot 2 | christie's new york | 12 november 2008
photo by christie's

helen frankenthaler | glow II | acrylic on canvas | 1968
sold for US$622,400 | sale 1835 lot 165 | christie's new york | 17 may 2007
photo by christie's

helen frankenthaler | chairman of the board | synthetic polymer paint and felt tip marker on canvas | 1971
museum of modern art | new york NY
photo by moma

helen frankenthaler | nature abhors a vacuum | acrylic on canvas | 1973
national gallery of art | washington DC
photo by national gallery of art

helen frankenthaler | leveling | acrylic on canvas | 1973
sold for US$698,500 | sale NO8792 lot 171 | sotheby's new york | 10 november 2011
photo by sotheby's

helen frankenthaler | cloud harbor | acrylic on canvas | 1974
sold for US$601,000 | sale NO8364 lot 242 | sotheby's new york | 15 november 2007
photo by mutual art

helen frankenthaler | nadir rising | acrylic on canvas | 1974
sold for US$769,000 | sale NO8442 lot 242 | sotheby's new york | 15 may 2008
photo by artnet

helen frankenthaler | royal fireworks | acrylic on canvas | 1975
sold for US$818,500 | sale 2481 lot 711 | christie's new york | 9 november 2011
photo by christie's

helen frankenthaler | springscape | acrylic on canvas | 1975
sold for US$578,500 | sale 2220 lot 225 | christie's new york | 11 november 2009
photo by christie's

helen frankenthaler | warming trend | acrylic on canvas | 2002
kemper museum of contemporary art | kansas city MO
photo by kemper art

wouldn't you love to see a retrospective of her work?
click here or here or here to read more about helen frankenthaler...

art | helen frankenthaler exhibit

two san francisco art galleries are presenting landmark exhibitions of paintings by helen frankenthaler and richard diebenkorn during april, may, and june 2010.

helen frankenthaler | paintings 1961-1973 at the john berggruen gallery opened on 1 april 2010 and runs through 22 may 2010.

helen frankenthaler (b.1928), who was influenced by the techniques of abstract expressionist painters such as jackson pollock, willem de kooning, and mark rothko, led the color field painting movement in new york during the 1950's.  she developed a gestural painting technique that, by pouring paint over an unprimed instead of a primed canvas, allowed the paint to penetrate and stain the surface.

here are some highlights from the show, which features rarely exhibited paintings from the collections of the artist and other private collectors.

some of the earliest paintings in the exhibition include provincetown l from 1961 and pivitol square from 1962. 

helen frankenthaler | provincetown l | 1961 | oil on canvas | 92x101 inches

photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA  

helen frankenthaler | pivitol square | 1962 | oil on canvas | 56x62 inches 
photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA 
 

helen frankenthaler | gulf stream | 1963 | oil and acrylic on canvas | 86x65 inches

photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA

helen frankenthaler | mountain pool | 1963 | acrylic on canvas | 48x78 inches

photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA

helen frankenthaler | orange underline | 1963 | acrylic on canvas | 55x71 inches
photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA

the san francisco museum of modern art loaned interior landscape from 1964 to the berggruen gallery for the exhibition.

  



























helen frankenthaler | interior landscape | 1964 | acrylic on canvas | 104x92 inches
photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA  

according to art scholar, barbara rose, coalition from 1968 is 'among the finest paintings produced anywhere in the late sixties'.

helen frankenthaler | coalition | 1968 | acrylic on canvas | 83x75 inches

photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA

but, harold rosenberg, a new york art critic and proponent of the abstract expressionist movement, described frankenthaler's post-1960's work as 'mere interior decoration'. 

helen frankenthaler | moveable blue | 1973 | acrylic on canvas | 70x243 inches

photo john berggruen gallery | san francisco CA 

what do you think?