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Perfecting the Pour

How did Helen Frankenthaler transform painting forever?

How did Helen Frankenthaler change painting forever?

Ernst Haas/Getty Images

Helen Frankenthaler loved to dance. How does this photo, taken in her studio in 1969, show how movement might have contributed to her painting technique?

As a child growing up in New York City, Helen Frankenthaler (FRANGkuhn- tah-luhr) would fill a sink with water and then drizzle in nail polish. She loved watching the colors swirl together. Similar swirls float across her 1952 Mountains and Sea, below. With this seminal work, completed when she was just 23, Frankenthaler invented a groundbreaking new painting technique.

Helen Frankenthaler (FRANG-kuhn-tah-luhr) grew up in New York City. As a child, she would fill a sink with water and drizzle in nail polish. She loved watching the colors swirl together. You can see similar swirls in her 1952 painting Mountains and Sea, below. Frankenthaler completed this work when she was 23. To make it, she invented a completely new painting method.

Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), Mountains and Sea, 1952. Oil and charcoal on unsized, unprimed canvas. ©2024 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Collection Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York, on extended loan to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

After completing the painting, shown above, inspired by a coastal scene, Frankenthaler said, “The landscapes were in my arms as I did it.”

Taking a Chance

Early in her career, Frankenthaler visited Nova Scotia, Canada. When she returned to her NYC studio, she wanted to paint her memories of the coastal scenery. Frankenthaler laid an unprimed canvas on the floor. A combination of what she later called “impatience, laziness, and innovation” compelled her to thin oil paint with turpentine and pour the mixture, which had the consistency of watercolors, directly onto the canvas. The result, which she titled Mountains and Sea, above, was the first soak-stain painting.

Usually canvases are primed, coated with a type of white paint called gesso that creates an even surface. Then the artist paints on the dried gesso. Because Frankenthaler did not prime the canvas for Mountains and Sea, the mixture saturated the raw fibers of the canvas, transforming the surface.

As Frankenthaler experimented with her soak-stain technique, she embraced chance. “There is no ‘always,’ ” she explained. “No formula. There are no rules. Let the picture lead you where it must go.”

Frankenthaler visited Nova Scotia, Canada early in her career. When she came back to NYC, she wanted to paint her memories of her trip. Frankenthaler laid canvas on the floor. But she skipped an important step.

At that time, most artists primed their canvases, or coated them with white paint. This dries into an even surface, and the artist paints on top. But Frankenthaler didn’t prime her canvas. First she thinned oil paint with a chemical called turpentine. This made the oil paint the thin consistency of watercolors. Then she poured the paint directly onto the unprimed canvas. The shapes the paint made were left to chance. The paint soaked into the canvas, creating Mountains and Sea, above. This was the first soak-stain painting. “There are no rules,” the artist said.

Helen Frankenthaler, Flood, 1967. Acrylic on canvas. The Whitney Museum of American Art/Licensed by Scala/Art Resource, NY. ©2024 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.

Why is chance an important part of the artist’s process?

What’s Your Point of View?

In the 1960s, Frankenthaler switched from oil to acrylic paint, which she thinned with water. Acrylic paints are usually brighter than oil paints. Compare the colors in her 1967 Flood, above, with those in Mountains and Sea.

“I think of my pictures as explosive landscapes, worlds, and distances held on a flat surface,” Frankenthaler said. Flood bursts with vibrant hues, but it lacks perspective, or the illusion of depth. The scene’s flatness makes it hard to interpret. Is it a pure abstract form or a river and mountains? Are we looking across a landscape or at it from above?

Ask yourself the same questions about Frankenthaler’s 1971 Chairman of the Board, below. The off-white areas of this work remain unpainted. “I frequently leave areas of raw, unprimed canvas unpainted,” Frankenthaler explained. “That negative space has just as active a role as the positive painted space. The negative spaces maintain shapes of their own and are not empty.”

Notice how the edges of the unpainted and painted areas add depth. What do you see when you look at this painting? More important: Does it matter what you see?

In the 1960s, Frankenthaler switched to acrylic paint, which she thinned with water. Acrylic paints are usually brighter than oil paints. She painted her 1967 Flood, above, with acrylics. How do the colors compare with those in Mountains and Sea?

Flood has no perspective, or depth. This makes it hard to know what you’re looking at. Do you see color and shape? Or do you see a river and mountains?

In Frankenthaler’s 1971 Chairman of the Board, below, the off-white areas are unpainted. Look at the edges where the unpainted and painted areas meet. They add depth. What do you see? How does looking at this painting make you feel?

Helen Frankenthaler, Chairman of the Board, 1971. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. The Museum of Modern Art/ Licensed by Scala/Art Resource, NY. ©2024 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.

How does Frankenthaler use color to define space?

More Than a Pretty Picture

“What concerns me when I work,” Frankenthaler said, “is not whether the picture is a landscape, or whether it’s pastoral, or whether somebody will see a sunset in it. What concerns me is—did I make a beautiful picture?”

The male-dominated art world often criticized Frankenthaler’s emphasis on aesthetics and fluid style for being too “feminine.” But in spite of this, Frankenthaler’s innovative technique inspired artists to play with new ways of working. So if you’ve ever tried pouring paint, you have Frankenthaler to thank.

“What concerns me when I work is not whether the picture is a landscape, or . . . whether somebody will see a sunset in it,” said Frankenthaler. “What concerns me is—did I make a beautiful picture?”

At the time, men in the art world said Frankenthaler’s style was too “feminine.” But her new technique inspired many different artists to take risks in their work. If you’ve ever tried pouring paint, you can thank Frankenthaler!

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