Price databaseBrowseSell your artwork
Watchlist
Helen Frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler

American · 1928–2011 · Painter, Printmaker

Helen Frankenthaler was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over… (Wikipedia)

Own a work by Helen Frankenthaler? Get a free auction estimate →

290lots offered2001–2026years recorded94%sold (264)$7.5kSign up free to seemedian price

3 works by Helen Frankenthaler with an auction history (offered more than once) →

Record prices

  1. Helen Frankenthaler, Off White Square, 1973, acrylic on canvasOff White SquarePhillips · $3,720,500≈ £2,798,210≈ €3,067,695Sign up to see
  2. Helen Frankenthaler, Acres, 1959, oil on canvasAcresPhillips · $3,690,000≈ £2,938,834≈ €3,417,933Sign up to see
  3. Helen Frankenthaler, Head of the Meadow, 1967, acrylic on canvasHead of the MeadowPhillips · $3,020,000≈ £2,414,262≈ €2,675,882Sign up to see

Helen Frankenthaler’s highest prices recorded at auction, ranked in US dollars at each sale-date exchange rate and shown in the currency of the sale (with the buyer’s premium where the house publishes it).

ArtSell has recorded 282 auction results for Helen Frankenthaler between 2001 and 2026, of which 264 sold (94%). A further 8 lots were offered at auction without a published result. Recorded sale prices range from $133Sign up free to see to $3.7MSign up free to see. The highest price recorded is $3.7MSign up free to see for Off White Square at Phillips in December 2020. The most common medium is lithographs (79 lots). Most results come from Phillips (104), Rago Auctions (46) and Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (43).

All filters
Longest side–Reset

282 results · page 1 of 8

Sign up free to see all prices. You’ve seen the free realized prices for this month. Artist, title, date, house, medium, size and estimates stay visible to everyone. Create a free account · Sign in
  1. Helen Frankenthaler, In the Wings, 1987, sugar-lift etching, soft-ground etching, aquatint, etching and lithograph in colors on HMP handmade
    In the Wings, 1987
    Aquatint
    13¾ h x 21⅛ w in (35 x 54 cm)
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 199
    $24,320≈ £17,988≈ €20,937Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $7,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  2. Helen Frankenthaler, Cedar Hill, 1983, woodcut in colors on light pink Mingei Momo
    Cedar Hill, 1983
    Woodcut / linocut
    20 h x 25 w in (51 x 63 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 128
    $12,160≈ £9,043≈ €10,470Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $7,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  3. Helen Frankenthaler, Tiger's Eye, 1987, etching, aquatint, lithograph and screenprint in colors on HMP handmade
    Tiger's Eye, 1987
    Etching
    16 h x 19½ w in (41 x 50 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 129
    $23,040≈ £17,134≈ €19,838Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  4. Helen Frankenthaler, This is Not a Book, 1997, etching, aquatint, mezzotint and pochoir in colors on TGL handmade
    This is Not a Book, 1997
    Etching
    10¾ h x 25⅝ w x 1⅜ d in (27 x 65 x 3 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 130
    $10,880≈ £8,091≈ €9,368Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $8,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  5. Helen Frankenthaler, What Red Lines Can Do, 1970, screenprint in colors on Arches handmade paper
    What Red Lines Can Do, 1970
    Screenprint · Paper
    38½ h x 26 w in (98 x 66 cm)
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 182
    $7,040≈ £5,251≈ €6,059Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $3,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  6. Helen Frankenthaler, Paloverde, acrylic on canvas
    Paloverde
    Acrylic · Canvas
    54 x 60 in. (137.2 x 152.4 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 23
    $2,193,000≈ £1,635,713≈ €1,887,263Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $600,000–800,000View at Phillips ↗
  7. Helen Frankenthaler, Bilbao, 1998, lithograph on paper
    Bilbao, 1998
    Lithograph · Paper · ed. 78/150
    35.875"h, 47.75"w
    Palm Beach Modern Auctions · · Lot 75
    $14,080≈ £10,541≈ €12,109Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $8,000–12,000View at Palm Beach Modern Auctions ↗
  8. Helen Frankenthaler, Untitled, Lithograph
    Untitled
    Lithograph
    Palm Beach Modern Auctions · · Lot 76
    $54,400≈ £40,725≈ €46,784Price realizedSign up free to seeView at Palm Beach Modern Auctions ↗
  9. Helen Frankenthaler, Solar Imp, 2001, screenprint in colors
    Solar Imp, 2001
    Screenprint
    39½ h x 30 w in (100 x 76 cm)
    Wright · · Lot 157
    $15,360≈ £11,341≈ €13,037Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $7,000–View at Wright ↗
  10. Helen Frankenthaler, Plaza Real, 1987, etching and aquatint in colors on BFK Rives
    Plaza Real, 1987
    Etching · Paper
    19⅞ h x 26⅜ w in (50 x 67 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 118
    $6,350≈ £4,686≈ €5,375Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Also offered, result not published (8)

Lots by Helen Frankenthaler that were offered at auction where the house did not publish whether they sold. Not counted in any statistics.

Helen Frankenthaler paintings (28)Helen Frankenthaler oil paintings (5)Helen Frankenthaler acrylic paintings (22)Helen Frankenthaler works on paper (15)Helen Frankenthaler gouaches (3)Helen Frankenthaler prints (229)Helen Frankenthaler etchings (37)Helen Frankenthaler aquatints (11)Helen Frankenthaler lithographs (79)Helen Frankenthaler screenprints (66)Helen Frankenthaler woodcuts & linocuts (16)Helen Frankenthaler sculpture (3)

Helen Frankenthaler: quick facts

What is the highest price paid for a work by Helen Frankenthaler at auction?

$3,720,500Sign up free to see, for Off White Square at Phillips (December 2020) — the highest price in ArtSell’s records.

What is a typical auction price for Helen Frankenthaler?

The median sale price is $7.5kSign up free to see across 264 priced sales. Prices vary by medium, size and date — see the price chart & statistics.

How many works by Helen Frankenthaler have sold at auction?

264 of 282 recorded lots sold between 2001 and 2026. 8 further lots were offered with no published result and are not counted.

Which auction houses sell Helen Frankenthaler?

Phillips, Rago Auctions and Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) account for the most recorded results. Phillips · Rago Auctions · Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)

Helen Frankenthaler signature

145 catalogued lots by Helen Frankenthaler record a signature line. The most common placement is lower right (71% of lots that state a placement). Most often: signed.

Placement

  • lower right29
  • lower left5
  • in the plate4
  • in the margin1
  • lower centre1
  • on the reverse1

Form

  • signed106
  • signed and dated22
  • signed in pencil16
  • monogrammed1
  • Signed “Frankenthaler” lower right; signed, titled and dated "Frankenthaler 1978 "PALOVERDE"" on the reverse — Paloverde, Phillips, May 19, 2026
  • Signed "frankenthaler" lower right — Untitled, Phillips, Nov 21, 2025
  • Signed and dated "Frankenthaler 80" lower right; signed and dated "14th + 15th March 1980 Frankenthaler" on the reverse — Untitled, Phillips, Jul 16, 2025

Helen Frankenthaler signature: all forms and examples →

About Helen Frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades, she spanned several generations of abstract painters while continuing to produce vital and ever-changing new work. Frankenthaler began exhibiting her large-scale abstract expressionist paintings in contemporary museums and galleries in the early 1950s. She was included in the 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition curated by Clement Greenberg that introduced a newer generation of abstract painting that came to be known as color field. Born in Manhattan, she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann, and Jackson Pollock's paintings. Her work has been the subject of several retrospective exhibitions, including a 1989 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and been exhibited worldwide since the 1950s. In 2001, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related artists — American, born 1903–1953

More American artists of the same period