Helen Frankenthaler, RIP

Helen Frankenthaler, "Mountain and Sea"

Helen Frankenthaler passed away yesterday. She began as an Abstract Expressionist painter who went on to develop the "soak stain" technique which gives an aura to the colors, which penetrate into the (unprepared) canvas after being diluted with turpentine. This technique was adopted by Jackson Pollock, Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis and others. Frankenthaler was at the leading edge of American Color Field painting, which according to Jerry Saltz, bridged Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. The painting shown at left was her initial breakthrough work.



She had a five year affair with Clement Greenberg, an later married Robert Motherwell. Both of these relationships brought her trouble as an artist, but she persevered. There were the usual misogynist  barbs and deprecating reviews, but among her peers, she was well-respected. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2002. She served on the National Council of the NEA for seven years.

You can see more of her work and about her life here [Link], here [Link], and here [Link].

Good-bye, Helen Frankenthaler. Rest in peace.