Reflections III 1995

Helen Frankenthaler made this print, Reflections III, using color lithography, a technique well-suited to her signature soak-stain method of painting. Frankenthaler came to prominence in the heady days of Abstract Expressionism in the United States. Many artists at that time were interested in the psychological dimensions of art. But Frankenthaler was part of a younger generation that wanted to push abstract painting in a new direction. She and others were interested in creating a painting that was more about color and form than about emotional expression. Her technique of staining raw canvas with thin washes of paint broke with tradition, and challenged viewers to see painting as a flat surface rather than a window into another world. To better understand her work, it is important to study how Frankenthaler's innovations helped shape the institutions of art in the late 20th century.