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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)

$3,720,500≈ £2,798,210≈ €3,067,695Sign uprecord price · incl. premiumOff White SquarePhillips291lots offered2001–2026years recorded94%sold (265)$7.5kSign up free to seemedian price

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

Record prices

  1. Off White Square by Helen Frankenthaler, 1973, acrylic on canvas, sold Dec 2020Off White SquarePhillips · $3,720,500≈ £2,798,210≈ €3,067,695Sign up to see
  2. Acres by Helen Frankenthaler, 1959, oil on canvas, sold May 2024AcresPhillips · $3,690,000≈ £2,938,834≈ €3,417,933Sign up to see
  3. Head of the Meadow by Helen Frankenthaler, 1967, acrylic on canvas, sold Jul 2020Head 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).

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  1. Painted Book Cover by Helen Frankenthaler, 1971, Acrylic in colors, on canvas bound monograph of the artist, with text by Barbara Rose, designed by Robert Motherwell, sold Jun 2023
    Painted Book Cover, 1971
    Acrylic · Canvas
    11 x 11 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (27.9 x 29.8 x 3.8 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 57
    $24,130≈ £18,960≈ €22,091Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $15,000–25,000View at Phillips ↗
  2. Flirt (R. p. 195) by Helen Frankenthaler, 2003, Screenprint in colors, on Somerset paper, the full sheet, sold Jun 2023
    Flirt (R. p. 195), 2003
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. 43/126
    S. 26 3/4 x 39 3/8 in. (67.9 x 100 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 58
    $17,145≈ £13,471≈ €15,696Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–7,000View at Phillips ↗
  3. Earth Slice (H.59) by Helen Frankenthaler, Soft-ground etching and aquatint on handmade paper, sold Jun 2023
    Earth Slice (H.59)
    Etching · Paper · ed. 6/46
    Plate: 8.75" h x 19.75" w
    Clarke Auction Gallery · · Lot 77
    $2,000≈ £1,592≈ €1,855HammerSign up free to seeEst. $2,000–3,000View at Clarke Auction Gallery ↗
  4. Parets (Walls) (H. 153) by Helen Frankenthaler, 1988, Collagraph drawn with Araldite glue in light burnt sienna, on handmade paper, the full sheet, sold Jun 2023
    Parets (Walls) (H. 153), 1988
    Print (other) · Paper
    S. 131 x 96.5 cm (51 5/8 x 37 7/8 in.)
    Phillips · · Lot 176
    £1,270≈ $1,583≈ €1,477Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. £2,000–3,000View at Phillips ↗
  5. La sardana (The Sardana) (H. 138) by Helen Frankenthaler, 1987, Lithograph with aquatint in colours, on BFK Rives paper, with full margins, sold Jun 2023
    La sardana (The Sardana) (H. 138), 1987
    Lithograph · Paper · ed. PP
    I. 70 x 48.1 cm (27 1/2 x 18 7/8 in.) S. 89.4 x 64.2 cm (35 1/4 x 25 1/4 in.)
    Phillips · · Lot 177
    £3,302≈ $4,116≈ €3,841Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. £1,500–2,500View at Phillips ↗
  6. In the Wings by Helen Frankenthaler, 1987, sugar-lift etching, soft-ground etching, aquatint, etching and lithograph in colors on HMP handmade, sold Jun 2023
    In the Wings, 1987
    Aquatint
    13⅝ h x 21 w in (35 x 53 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 116
    $15,120≈ £12,131≈ €14,135Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  7. On the Road by Helen Frankenthaler, 1980, acrylic on canvas, sold May 2023
    On the Road, 1980
    Acrylic · Canvas
    59 3/4 x 103 3/4 in. (151.8 x 263.5 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 31
    $1,875,000≈ £1,504,574≈ €1,731,462Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,500,000–2,000,000View at Phillips ↗
  8. Coyote Dawn by Helen Frankenthaler, 1986, acrylic on canvas, sold May 2023
    Coyote Dawn, 1986
    Acrylic · Canvas
    33 x 54 1/2 in. (83.8 x 138.4 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 207
    $304,800≈ £243,528≈ €280,121Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $150,000–250,000View at Phillips ↗
  9. Deep Sun by Helen Frankenthaler, 1983, etching in colors, soft-ground etching, aquatint, spitbite aquatint, drypoint, engraving and mezzotint on White St. Arma, sold Apr 2023
    Deep Sun, 1983
    Etching
    29⅞ h x 40 w in (76 x 102 cm)
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 216
    $23,940≈ £19,206≈ €21,687Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $7,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  10. Untitled, 1978
    Acrylic
    30-3/4 x 41-3/4 in.
    Brunk Auctions · · Lot 99
    $160,000≈ £129,084≈ €145,746HammerSign up free to seeEst. $60,000–90,000View at Brunk 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 (230)Helen Frankenthaler etchings (37)Helen Frankenthaler aquatints (11)Helen Frankenthaler lithographs (79)Helen Frankenthaler screenprints (67)Helen Frankenthaler woodcuts & linocuts (16)Helen Frankenthaler sculpture (3)

Helen Frankenthaler signature

146 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 dated23
  • 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.

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