HELEN FRANKENTHALER

Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) was an American painter known for her pioneering role in the development of Color Field painting and the postwar American abstract movement. Emerging in the 1950s, she gained early recognition for her innovative “soak-stain” technique, in which she poured thinned paint onto unprimed canvas, allowing color to seep into the surface in luminous, fluid forms. This approach influenced a generation of artists, including the Washington Color School. Frankenthaler’s work is celebrated for its lyrical abstraction, subtle color harmonies, and sense of openness and spontaneity. Over a six-decade career, she became one of the most influential figures in modern American art.