Helen Frankenthaler

Beach Horse (1959) is considered the only known shaped canvas by the artist. In this landscape-oriented piece with a slanted left side, Frankenthaler demonstrates her full painterly virtuosity. She divides the canvas into three sections: at the tapered left edge, she leaves the fabric unpainted. This is followed by a calm, white-primed field, leading into a section where she showcases her painterly skills: swiftly drawn lines stand alongside translucent washes and opaque shapes. She incorporates the tone of the raw canvas into the composition.
Frankenthaler first displayed Beach Horse in her solo exhibition at the André Emmerich Gallery in March 1959, and again in her retrospective at the Jewish Museum in New York in 1960. Artist Frank Stella (1936–2024) eventually purchased the work, which Frankenthaler had previously offered to him in an exchange.[1] Stella recalled, ‘I always had in my mind that I wanted to have a painting of Helen’s’. When asked why he chose Beach Horse, he replied, ‘I liked the painting a lot…the raw canvas, the empty space, you know, put together with the other space that’s so filled up. The painting is terrific.’[2] Around 1960, Frank Stella himself began to paint shaped canvases, seeking to overcome the traditional rectangular format and dissolve the boundaries of flat painting by incorporating the dimension of space.

Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011)

Beach Horse, 1959

Currently exhibited: Yes (Helen Frankenthaler: Move and Make)

Material: Oil on canvas
Size: 391.2 x 89.2 cm
Inv-Nr.: B_475
Image rights: VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; Copyright: Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York

Keywords:

• Abstract Expressionism
• Color field painting
• Soak-stain-technique