Solarium, 1964; Lithograph on white Rives BFK paper; Signed Frankenthaler and dated '64 in pencil lower right and numbered 10/18 in pencil lower left; Published by Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, NY (with their chop mark lower left); Catalogue Raisonne: Harrison 5; Size - Image: 17 3/4 x 13 3/4", Sheet: 25 1/2 x 19 1/4", Frame: 29 1/2 x 23 1/2"; Framed floated on an acid free mat, with a silver wood exterior frame, and UV plexiglass.
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Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter who exhibited artwork for over six decades starting from the early 1950's until her passing in 2011. She was included in the 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition curated by the famed art critic Clement Greenberg; and the body of work presented in the show would latter be known as Color Field Painting. Frankenthaler's work has been the subject of several retrospective exhibitions, including the important 1989 retrospective held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 2011 she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
Close up of "Solarium" by Helen Frankenthaler
Close up of "Solarium" by Helen Frankenthaler
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 the date.
Close up of the Frankenthaler signature and the date.
Close up of the edition number and ULAE chop mark.
During the 1960's, ULAE published original prints by Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Barnett Newman, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, Cy Twombly, and many other major modern artists working at the time. In the 1960's ULAE established an etching studio and one the printers hired was Donn Steward. Steward had studied etching at the University of Iowa and had trained as a lithography printer at Tamarind. He worked with Frankenthaler and printed the four aquatints made at ULAE and in addition, he and Zigmunds Priede assisted in the printing of "Solarium."
The first five of Helen Frankenthaler's prints were all published by ULAE, and all have an edition size less than twenty-five. "Solarium," 1964 is the fifth print published by ULAE and it is part of the permanent collections of Musuem of Modern Art NY, The Art Institute of Chicago IL, The National Gallery of Art DC, and others. Because the edition size is only 18 and being part of several major museum's permanent collections and high end collectors; the probability is greatly reduced that the work is ever available in the open market.
The first five of Helen Frankenthaler's prints were all published by ULAE, and all have an edition size less than twenty-five. "Solarium," 1964 is the fifth print published by ULAE and it is part of the permanent collections of Musuem of Modern Art NY, The Art Institute of Chicago IL, The National Gallery of Art DC, and others. Because the edition size is only 18 and being part of several major museum's permanent collections and high end collectors; the probability is greatly reduced that the work is ever available in the open market.
Framed "Solarium," 1964; Lithograph by Helen Frankenthaler.
A solarium is "a room fitted with extensive areas of glass to admit sunlight." Helen Frankenthaler's choice of title is certainly appropriate for the work, as it is reminiscent of the experience of a solarium. The rich and textured blue sky, the rays of yellow and warm red-orange all combine with the empty spaces of the composition to evoke a relaxing and calm environment. This is an extremely rare and important work by Helen Frankenthaler and certainly a great addition to any fine art collection.
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