FRANKENTHALER, HELEN (American, b. 1928) "Mary, Mary," 1987/1990. Poster with text based on an acrylic painting on canvas. Edition: c. 800 posters with lettering; signed, L.R. Poster size: 49" x 32" (framed). Price Category: A

We do not as a rule carry poster art, but this large, striking image is signed by the artist ("Frankenthaler," in pencil, in the lower right hand corner) and is therefore of interest. Based upon Frankenthaler's acrylic painting "Mary, Mary" (1887), Lincoln Center commissioned and published an original 4-color screen print and photolithograph in 72 signed and numbered impressions, plus 9 artist's proofs, in 1990. The occasion was the opening of the Samuel and David Rose Building at Lincoln Center. At the same time, an edition of c. 800 original posters, with lettering, was printed from the same screens by the Lincoln Center printer, of which about 300 were used by Lincoln Center for display. Some of the posters were signed by the artist; this is one of them. Helen Frankenthaler is one of the most important living American artists. Born in New York in 1928, she became one of the leading abstract expressionists, working alongside Pollack, De Kooning, and other major figures in the field. Extending Pollack's method of drip-painting on unprimed canvas on the floor, she developed the technique of swirling or brushing thin liquid pigments directly onto the canvas. Frankenthaler's work can be seen in most major collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and many others. Provenance: Spaightwood Galleries, Upton, MA.

Art in the Afternoon, L.L.C.
P.O. Box 620066
Middleton, WI 53562
608-469-2994; 608-836-6454
info@artintheafternoon.net