Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), whose career spanned six decades, has long been recognised as one of the great American artists of the 20th century. She was eminent among the second generation of postwar American abstract painters and is widely credited for playing a pivotal role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Colour Field painting. Through her invention of the soak-stain technique, she expanded the possibilities of abstract painting, while at times referencing figuration and landscape in unique ways. She produced a body of work whose impact on contemporary art has been profound and continues to grow. Showcasing fourteen of Frankenthaler's paintings, dating from 1959 through 1962, and two earlier works on paper, this beautiful book highlights a radical and lesser-known body of works unique within the artist's oeuvre. The book includes colour plates of all sixteen works, as well as four single-page and seven double-page spread details. Never before and rarely published documentary photographs appear throughout the book, along with a new and insightful text by John Elderfield. This book accompanies the 2017 exhibition of Frankenthaler's work at Gagosian Paris.

Author Biography

John Elderfield, Chief Curator Emeritus of Painting and Sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art, and Allen R. Adler, class of 1967, Distinguished Curator and Lecturer at the Princeton University Art Museum, joined Gagosian five years ago as a Consultant for special exhibitions. At Gagosian, he has championed the work of Helen Frankenthaler, and organised the major exhibition In the Studios: Paintings (2015). He has written over twenty-five books and nearly one hundred scholarly articles.