Live Auction 15969Post-War and Contemporary Art Morning Session
Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011)
Lot 657 Property from a Distinguished West Coast Collection

Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011)

Melba

Closed18 May 2018

Price Realised

USD 612,500

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Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011)
Melba
signed 'frankenthaler' (on the reverse)
acrylic on canvas
59 x 19 1/8 in. (149.9 x 48.5 cm.)
Painted in 1976.

André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Private collection, Medina, Washington, 1977
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Specialist note

"Color is also extremely important to my 'process.' It's born out of idea, mood, luck, imagination, risk, into what might even be ugly; then I let it tell me what might/should be used next, until I get the light and order that satisfies to perfection. The result is color and space and, I hope, a beautiful message." -Helen Frankenthaler, quoted in Line into Color, Color into Line: Helen Frankenthaler Paintings 1962-1987, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, 2016.