Helen Frankenthaler: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Helen Frankenthaler turned Pollock's poured line into stained color, inventing the soak-stain method that seeded Color Field painting. This mix traces her Bennington and Hans Hofmann training, her downtown New York milieu of the early 1950s, the critic and painter she shared her life with, and the generations who took her diluted washes into sculpture and installation.

The Kynda mix for Helen Frankenthaler

• Key Influence · Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock (1950). Frankenthaler saw Pollock's poured canvases at Betty Parsons Gallery in 1950 and later described the encounter as decisive: working on unstretched canvas laid on the floor, letting the paint find its own path. Her 1952 breakthrough Mountains and Sea adopted Pollock's horizontal, all-over procedure but replaced enamel line with thinned oil soaked directly into raw cotton duck, converting drawing into stain.','','
• Influencia Obscura · Etamin by Paul Feeley (1965). Feeley ran the art department at Bennington College, where Frankenthaler studied until 1949, and he was the teacher who pushed her toward modernist abstraction and arranged her contact with the New York avant-garde. Largely forgotten beside her, Feeley's later emblematic, flatly stained shapes on raw canvas show the same interest in pigment sitting in the weave rather than on top of it.
• Local Roots · Grand Street Brides by Grace Hartigan (1954). Hartigan and Frankenthaler were the two most visible young women in downtown New York's second-generation Abstract Expressionist circle, both included in the landmark 1951 Ninth Street Show organized by Leo Castelli and the Club artists. They shared studios' worth of the same milieu — Cedar Tavern, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, and the poets around Frank O'Hara — while pulling abstraction in opposite directions.
• Beyond the Medium · Art and Culture: Critical Essays by Clement Greenberg (1961). Greenberg was Frankenthaler's partner from 1950 to 1955; he took her to Pollock's studio, brought her to Bennington and Provincetown, and later used her stained canvases as the pivot of his argument for 'post-painterly abstraction.' Reading his collected essays maps the critical machinery that framed her work and turned her technique into a movement via Louis and Noland.
• Peer · Beta Kappa by Morris Louis (1961). In April 1953 Louis and Kenneth Noland visited Frankenthaler's New York studio with Greenberg and saw Mountains and Sea; Louis later called it the picture that showed a way out of Pollock. His Veils and Unfurleds are the direct consequence, thinned acrylic poured into unprimed canvas so that image and support become one — her discovery pursued with systematic rigor.
• From the Canon · Mountains and Sea by Helen Frankenthaler (1952). Painted at twenty-three after a trip to Nova Scotia, this seven-by-ten-foot canvas of turpentine-thinned oil soaked into unprimed cotton duck is the origin point of the soak-stain technique and of Color Field painting. Its pale, breathing washes and vestigial charcoal lines keep landscape memory alive inside abstraction, and its 1953 viewing by Louis and Noland changed postwar American painting.
• Key Collaborator · At Five in the Afternoon by Robert Motherwell (1949). Motherwell married Frankenthaler in 1958; through the 1960s the couple worked, travelled and exhibited in parallel, and their thirteen-year marriage placed two major abstractionists in the same household. This early study for the Elegies shows the black shapes and improvised edges Motherwell was refining as she moved from stained oil to acrylic — a dialogue of scale and starkness between two studios.
• Legacy · Carousel Form II by Sam Gilliam (1969). Gilliam began by staining and folding unstretched canvas in the Washington orbit where Frankenthaler's technique had already been transmitted through Louis and Noland, then took her innovation off the wall entirely by draping the soaked fabric. His Drape works are unthinkable without the premise that paint absorbed into raw cloth, rather than applied to a primed surface, can be the whole picture.

What influenced Helen Frankenthaler

• Jackson Pollock. Article states Frankenthaler was influenced by Jackson Pollock's paintings. (also via Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)) “she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann , and Jackson Pollock 's paintings” (Wikipedia)
• Joan Miró. Miró's paintings are described as precursors to Frankenthaler's work in that style. (also via Helen Frankenthaler) “his lyrical abstractions [ 77 ] and color field paintings were precursors of that style by artists such as Helen Frankenthaler , Olitski and Louis and others.” (Wikipedia)
• Clement Greenberg (1909). Article states Frankenthaler was influenced by critic Clement Greenberg. (also via Art and Culture: Critical Essays, Post-Painterly Abstraction) “she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann , and Jackson Pollock 's paintings” (Wikipedia)
• Hans Hofmann. Article states Frankenthaler was influenced by Hans Hofmann. (also via The Gate) “she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann , and Jackson Pollock 's paintings” (Wikipedia)
• Arshile Gorky. Frankenthaler's early works reflect interest in Arshile Gorky. (also via The Liver Is the Cock's Comb) “These works reflect her exploration of automatism and her interest in artists like Arshile Gorky and Joan Miró” (Wikipedia)
• Paul Feeley. Paul Feeley influenced her early cubist-derived style. (also via Etamin) “Frankenthaler studied under the direction of Paul Feeley , who is credited with helping her understand pictorial composition, as well as influencing her early cubist-derived style” (Wikipedia)
• Paul Cézanne. Elderfield states Cézanne's watercolors were an important early influence on Frankenthaler. “John Elderfield wrote that the watercolors of Paul Cézanne and John Marin were important early influences” (Wikipedia)
• The Liver Is the Cock's Comb by Arshile Gorky (1944). The Liver Is the Cock's Comb (Arshile Gorky) — titan for Helen Frankenthaler “These works reflect her exploration of automatism and her interest in artists like Arshile Gorky and Joan Miró.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Wallace Harrison. Frankenthaler studied privately with painter Wallace Harrison. “she studied privately with Australian-born painter Wallace Harrison, during the Non-resident term” (Wikipedia)
• Bennington College. Frankenthaler attended Bennington College. “also at Bennington College in Vermont” (Wikipedia)
• Meditations in an Emergency by Frank O'Hara (1957). Meditations in an Emergency (Frank O'Hara) — culture for Helen Frankenthaler “Her first major museum show, a retrospective of her 1950s work with a catalog by the critic and poet Frank O'Hara, a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, was at the Jewish Museum in 1960.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock (1950). Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) (Jackson Pollock) — titan for Helen Frankenthaler “Born in Manhattan, she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann, and Jackson Pollock's paintings.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rufino Tamayo. Frankenthaler studied under muralist Rufino Tamayo at Dalton School. “Frankenthaler studied at the Dalton School under muralist Rufino Tamayo” (Wikipedia)
• Abstract Expressionism. Frankenthaler's color field work described as a second-generation development of Abstract Expressionism. “Color field painters such as Helen Frankenthaler are second generation related to abstract expression is because of the dominance of color.” (The Picture Show (public broadcasting))
• John Marin. Elderfield states John Marin's watercolors were an important early influence on Frankenthaler. “John Elderfield wrote that the watercolors of Paul Cézanne and John Marin were important early influences” (Wikipedia)
• Art and Culture: Critical Essays by Clement Greenberg (1961). Art and Culture: Critical Essays (Clement Greenberg) — culture for Helen Frankenthaler “She was included in the 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition curated by Clement Greenberg that introduced a newer generation of abstract painting that came to be known as color field.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Etamin by Paul Feeley (1965). Etamin (Paul Feeley) — ghost for Helen Frankenthaler “While at Bennington, Frankenthaler studied under the direction of Paul Feeley, who is credited with helping her understand pictorial composition, as well as influencing her early cubist-derived style.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Gate by Hans Hofmann (1959). The Gate (Hans Hofmann) — ghost for Helen Frankenthaler “Born in Manhattan, she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann, and Jackson Pollock's paintings.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Peers and kindred spirits

• Robert Motherwell (1915). Frankenthaler was married to fellow painter Robert Motherwell. (also via At Five in the Afternoon) “She married the painter Robert Motherwell in 1958; the couple divorced in 1971” (Wikipedia)
• Tatyana Grosman. Frankenthaler collaborated with Tatyana Grosman on her first prints. (also via East and Beyond) “She also worked with many artists through ULAE, some of them being: [ 1 ] Lee Bontecou Jim Dine Sam Francis Helen Frankenthaler” (Wikipedia)
• National Council on the Arts. Frankenthaler served on the National Council on the Arts. “She served on the National Council on the Arts of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1985 to 1992” (Wikipedia)
• National Academy of Design. Frankenthaler was elected to the National Academy of Design. “In 1990, she was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1994” (Wikipedia)
• At Five in the Afternoon by Robert Motherwell (1949). At Five in the Afternoon (Robert Motherwell) — collaborator for Helen Frankenthaler “She married the painter Robert Motherwell in 1958; the couple divorced in 1971.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Post-Painterly Abstraction by Clement Greenberg. Frankenthaler was included in Greenberg's Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition. “She was included in the 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition curated by Clement Greenberg that introduced a newer generation of abstract painting” (Wikipedia)
• Tatyania Grossman. Grossman's press produced lithographs by Helen Frankenthaler. “among them Jasper Johns. Grace Hartigan and Helen Frankenthaler” (Evening Star (Washington, D.C.))
• Beta Kappa by Morris Louis (1961). Beta Kappa (Morris Louis) — peer for Helen Frankenthaler “The technique was adopted by other artists, notably Morris Louis (1912–1962) and Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), and launched the second generation of the color field school of painting.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Grand Street Brides by Grace Hartigan (1954). Grand Street Brides (Grace Hartigan) — geography for Helen Frankenthaler “Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: five painters and the movement that changed modern art.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Kenneth E. Tyler. Frankenthaler collaborated with Kenneth Tyler on woodcut prints. “In 1976, Frankenthaler began to work within the medium of woodcuts. She collaborated with Kenneth E. Tyler” (Wikipedia)
• Beginning by Kenneth Noland (1958). Beginning (Kenneth Noland) — peer for Helen Frankenthaler “The technique was adopted by other artists, notably Morris Louis (1912–1962) and Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), and launched the second generation of the color field school of painting.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Franz Kline (1910). Frankenthaler identified as fellow exponent of abstract expressionism alongside Kline. (also via Chief)
• Chief by Franz Kline (1950). Chief (Franz Kline) — geography for Helen Frankenthaler

Who Helen Frankenthaler influenced

• Morris Louis. Morris Louis adopted Frankenthaler's soak stain technique. (also via Mountains and Sea, Beta Kappa) “The technique was adopted by other artists, notably Morris Louis (1912–1962) and Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), and launched the second generation of the color field school of painting” (Wikipedia)
• Kenneth Noland. Kenneth Noland adopted Frankenthaler's soak stain technique. (also via Mountains and Sea, Beginning) “The technique was adopted by other artists, notably Morris Louis (1912–1962) and Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), and launched the second generation of the color field school of painting” (Wikipedia)
• Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper. Frankenthaler is among the artists depicted over the apostles. “The artists collaged over the apostles include Lynda Benglis , Louise Bourgeois , Elaine de Kooning , Helen Frankenthaler , Nancy Graves , Lila Katzen , Lee Krasner , Georgia O'Keeffe , Louise Nevelson , Yoko Ono , M. C. Richards , Alma …” (Wikipedia)
• Mary Beth Edelson. Edelson's piece depicted Frankenthaler collaged into the Last Supper imagery. “with the heads of notable women artists including Frankenthaler collaged over the heads of Christ and his apostles” (Wikipedia)
• Carousel Form II by Sam Gilliam (1969). Carousel Form II (Sam Gilliam) — legacy for Helen Frankenthaler “==== Early color field and hard-edge abstraction ==== In 1964, Gilliam began developing a series of paintings that experimented with hard-edge and color field styles, with precise geometric fields of color similar to those of Washington …” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Untitled Trumpet by Katharina Grosse (2015). Untitled Trumpet (Katharina Grosse) — legacy for Helen Frankenthaler