Helen Frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler was a pioneering abstract painter known for her innovative use of color and technique. Born in New York City, she studied at Brearley and Dalton Schools, later attending Bennington College where she studied under Paul Feeley. After graduating in 1949, she studied with Hans Hofmann in Provincetown. In the 1950s, she shared a studio with Friedel Dzubas and was part of a vibrant Greenwich Village circle that included artists like Larry Rivers and Joan Mitchell. In 1958, she married Abstract Expressionist Robert Motherwell.
Frankenthaler was deeply influenced by Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings and developed her own approach by thinning pigment with turpentine, allowing the paint to soak into unprimed canvas. This technique created an embedded image that altered the traditional view of painting. She also experimented with acrylics in the 1960s, achieving watercolor-like effects. Her work influenced color-field painters such as Kenneth Noland and Morris Louis, solidifying her legacy in modern art.