Sunshine After Rain, 1987; Etching, aquatint and drypoint in colors, on Fabriano paper, with full margins; Signed Frankenthaler and dated `87' in pencil lower right and numbered 43/67 in pencil lower left; Published by 2RC Edizioni d'Arte, Rome (with their blindstamp); Catalogue Raisonne Harrison 126 & cover of the book; Size - Image: 34 x 27 1/2", Sheet: 46 1/4 x 36 1/2", Frame 50 1/2 x 42"; Framed with an acid free mat, wood frame, and UV conservation glass.
To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE
To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE
Helen Frankenthaler is, without a question, one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century and is one of the very few female artists that would be included in such a list. She was married to the abstract expressionist artist Robert Motherwell, and had an intimate relationship with the famous art critic Clement Greenberg; so her connections within the art community run very deep. Frankenthaler was initially involved in the abstract expressionist movement but was looking for a path forward. Then, after a trip in October to Nova Scotia, had a breakthrough with a painting entitled "Mountains and Sea," 1952. The painting was abstract, and rather than painting the landscape seen on her trip, the work portrayed the experience itself. The composition was painted using a "soak stain" technique, whereby unprimed canvas duct is painted using oil paint that had been heavily thinned with turpentine. The effects of the technique reinforced the abstract nature of the landscape painting; and when the artists Kenneth Noland and Morris Louis saw it in her studio, their own painting styles and working methods were forever changed.
Close up of the Frankenthaler signature and date '87.
Close up of the edition number 43/67.
Photograph of "Sunshine After Rain" framed.
This work, "Sunshine After Rain," 1987 is a wonderful example of Helen Frankenthaler at her best! The technique is an etching, aquatint, and drypoint on paper; and the image was used for the cover of her catalogue raisonne (pictured below). When the work was created, it existed as a horizontal (imagine in your mind's eye, rotating the composition 90 degrees counterclockwise). However, Helen felt the work was too literal consisting of a landscape with the sun soaked yellow sky, falling rain drops, pool of water, and the brown soil ground; so she rotated the artwork. The result is a powerful abstract composition that reads much better than it's former horizontal self.
Dust jacket cover of the catalogue raisonne of Frankenthaler prints 1961-1994.
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