Mar 21, 2025

Helen Frankenthaler’s impact on Abstract Expressionism

 The artist’s soak-stain technique helped usher in a new style of abstract painting 

By Khadra Ahmed
An image of Helen Frankenthaler's work a Natural Answer (1976)

Helen Frankenthaler. Natural Answer, 1976. Acrylic on canvas, 243.8 x 335.3 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Emer, 1985. © Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / CARCC Ottawa 2025. 85/397
 

With thinned paints and unprimed canvases, Helen Frankenthaler (1928 - 2011) transformed the landscape of Abstract Expressionism.  

Born and raised in New York City, Frankenthaler was part of the second generation of postwar American abstract painters known for experimenting with painting techniques. A woman practicing in what was at the time a male-dominated field, Frankenthaler became one of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. She was one of the few woman artists guided by the influential art critic Clement Greenberg. 

Much of Frankenthaler’s work plays with symmetry and explores landscape, figuration, and pure abstraction. Her work also loosely references nature, religious and mythological places and her personal travels, although she was hesitant for viewers to believe her work captured these themes conventionally, especially due to the titles of her works. 

In addition to being an amazing colourist, Frankenthaler is renowned for developing the soak-stain technique, first showcased in her painting Mountains and Sea (1952), which she painted at only the age of 23. In this technique, she poured paint thinned with turpentine onto unprimed canvases laid on the floor, allowing the paint to soak into the canvas and create fields of colour reminiscent of watercolours. This technique expanded the possibilities of abstract painting and played a crucial role in forming the Color Field Movement, which is characterized by broad, flat areas of saturated colour.   

Frankenthaler’s work Natural Answer (1976) is currently on view at the AGO as part of the exhibition Moments in Modernism. This work is a slight departure from her soak-stain technique — Frankenthaler used paintbrushes and other tools to build the layers of this work, filling the work with subtle colour changes and white accents. The terracotta colour palette of Natural Answer was inspired by a trip Frankenthaler took to Phoenix, Arizona.  

 

 

Some interpret Natural Answer as an abstract rendering of a sunset due to its loose gradient from lighter to darker shades and dark brown horizon line. In the catalogue for the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth’s 1989 retrospective Helen Frankenthaler: A Paintings Retrospective, Frankenthaler told the exhibition’s curator E.A. Carmean, Jr.: “You could project some sort of sunset image, but I don't know if it's there… However, the painting is resolved the way nature is resolved: a natural answer.” 

Frankenthaler’s soak-stain technique influenced both her peers and later generations of painters. If you pay Natural Answer a visit, you can see Frankenthaler’s influence on her contemporary, Morris Louis (1912 - 1962), directly depicted in his work Delta Tau (1960), which is installed in the same room of the exhibition.  

Come experience both the artistry and influence of Helen Frankenthaler by visiting Moments in Modernism, on view on Level 4 of the AGO. 

Moments in Modernism was co-curated by Debbie Johnsen, Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art, and Stephan Jost, Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO. Moments in Modernism features artworks that will form the cornerstone for the expansion of the new Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery, starting construction in 2024.  The new building is being designed by architects Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and Two Row Architect to showcase the AGO's growing collection of modern and contemporary art.   

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