Helen Frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler is internationally recognized as one of the most influential artists of the 20^th century.  She was a key proponent of the Abstract Expressionist movement, and was pivotal in the shift that saw New York become the new centre of the art world.  

Her innovative techniques had an immense influence on the contemporary art world, and her work is currently amongst the most coveted by collectors around the world.Frankenthaler’s work can be found in nearly every major museum collection in the world, including at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the Guggenheim, Berlin.  She has also been the subject of two important retrospectives at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1969 and New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1989.

At a time when the majority of the art world was still male dominated, Frankenthaler not only participated, but in most cases led the way.  She was the first to use the method of pouring paint directly onto raw unprimed canvas.  This new technique known as “soak stain” virtually fused the figure and background together, as the diluted paint would be immediately absorbed by the canvas.  She pushed this approach to its full potential, experimenting with dilution and soaking techniques to create spontaneous complex forms bursting with life and immediacy.  Her methods and designs influenced her contemporaries including Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, as well as countless other artists to this day.  She continues to be recognized around the world as one of the premier American painters of the twentieth century.