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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. Skywriting by Helen Frankenthaler, 1997, Color screenprint on wove paper, sold Oct 2019
    Skywriting, 1997
    Screenprint · Paper
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 238
    $12,500≈ £9,614≈ €11,188Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  2. West Wind by Helen Frankenthaler, 1997, Screenprint on paper, sold Oct 2019
    West Wind, 1997
    Screenprint · Paper
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 239
    $21,250≈ £16,344≈ €19,019Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $6,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  3. Midnight, from Broome Street Series by Helen Frankenthaler, 1987, Drypoint and aquatint in colors, on Magnani paper, with full margins, sold Apr 2019
    Midnight, from Broome Street Series, 1987
    Drypoint · Paper · ed. 54/71
    I. 19 1/2 x 15 3/4 in. (49.5 x 40 cm) S. 32 x 25 in. (81.3 x 63.5 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 161
    $7,500≈ £5,766≈ €6,670Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $3,000–5,000View at Phillips ↗
  4. La Sardana by Helen Frankenthaler, 1987, Lithograph and aquatint in colors, on Rives BFK paper, with full margins, sold Apr 2019
    La Sardana, 1987
    Lithograph · Paper · ed. 11/60
    I. 27 1/2 x 19 in. (69.9 x 48.3 cm) S. 35 x 25 1/8 in. (88.9 x 63.8 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 162
    $6,250≈ £4,805≈ €5,558Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $3,000–5,000View at Phillips ↗
  5. What Red Lines Can Do: one plate by Helen Frankenthaler, 1970, Screenprint in colors, on Arches handmade paper, the full sheet, adhered along the edges, sold Apr 2019
    What Red Lines Can Do: one plate, 1970
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. 53/75
    S. 38 1/2 x 26 in. (97.8 x 66 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 163
    $5,000≈ £3,844≈ €4,446Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–3,500View at Phillips ↗
  6. Freefall by Helen Frankenthaler, 1992-93, Monumental woodcut and hand-dyed paper in colors, on TGL handmade paper, the full sheet, sold Apr 2019
    Freefall, 1992-93
    Woodcut / linocut · Paper · ed. 6/30
    S. 78 1/4 x 60 in. (198.8 x 152.4 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 41
    $131,250≈ £100,899≈ €116,719Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $80,000–120,000View at Phillips ↗
  7. Monotype XI, from Monotypes I-XXX, a series of 30 unique works by Helen Frankenthaler, 1991, Monotype in colors with extensive hand-additions, on Fujimori-Awagami paper, the full sheet, sold Apr 2019
    Monotype XI, from Monotypes I-XXX, a series of 30 unique works, 1991
    Print (other) · Paper
    S. 25 1/8 x 38 5/8 in. (63.8 x 98.1 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 42
    $27,500≈ £21,141≈ €24,455Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $15,000–25,000View at Phillips ↗
  8. Monoprint V, from Monoprint, Monotype Series by Helen Frankenthaler, 1981, Monoprint in colors with hand-coloring in lithographic ink, pastel and Paintstik, on white Japanese Suzuki handmade pape, sold Apr 2019
    Monoprint V, from Monoprint, Monotype Series, 1981
    Print (other) · Paper
    S. 42 3/8 x 33 3/8 in. (107.6 x 84.8 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 43
    $25,000≈ £19,219≈ €22,232Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $20,000–30,000View at Phillips ↗
  9. Free Wheeling by Helen Frankenthaler, 1971, etching and pochoir on paper, sold Apr 2019
    Free Wheeling, 1971
    Etching · Paper
    42 h x 30 w in (107 x 76 cm)
    Wright · · Lot 124
    $8,125≈ £6,216≈ €7,213Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $3,000–View at Wright ↗
  10. Four Pochoirs portfolio by Helen Frankenthaler, 1970, pochoir on Arches Imperial Rough watercolor paper, sold Jan 2019
    Four Pochoirs portfolio, 1970
    Print (other) · Paper
    22 h x 30½ w in (56 x 77 cm)
    Wright · · Lot 121
    $38,750≈ £30,011≈ €34,003Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $15,000–View at Wright ↗
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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