Chapter 1
Helen Frankenthaler and the liquid canvas
Chapter 2
Agnes Martin and the quiet grid
Chapter 3
Vija Celmins and the infinite detail
Chapter 4
Tamara de Lempicka and modern speed
Chapter 5
Maruja Mallo and defiant surrealism
Chapter 6
Sofía Bassi and the prison canvas
YOUR GOAL
Master of Six women who painted outside the lines
Ch 1 · Helen Frankenthaler and the liquid canvas
choko Helen Frankenthaler
Just let the liquid colors bleed and pour, Right through the unprimed canvas on the floor.
choko Breaking the Boys' Club
We let the paint soak into raw canvas, breaking the rules of their boys' club
choko In 1952 New York, she thinned oil paint with turpentine to let pigments saturate raw, unprimed canvas for Mountains and Sea.
choko Artists Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland developed their styles after visiting her studio
BETA
choko Pour and spread vibrant colors to learn how Helen Frankenthaler created her liquid canvases.
Fun Fact
Unprimed canvas: Helen Frankenthaler painted on raw, untreated canvas because priming it would prevent her thinned paints from soaking in.
Glossary
soak-stain (noun)
An artistic technique in which thinned paint is poured onto unprimed canvas, allowing the pigment to absorb directly into the fabric. Helen Frankenthaler pioneered this technique in 1952 to create her landmark painting Mountains and Sea.
An artistic technique in which thinned paint is poured onto unprimed canvas, allowing the pigment to absorb directly into the fabric. Helen Frankenthaler pioneered this technique in 1952 to create her landmark painting Mountains and Sea.
Quiz
What did Helen Frankenthaler thin her oil paints with to achieve her signature "soak-stain" effect?
choko Helen Frankenthaler transformed modern art with her innovative soak-stain painting technique.
Quiz
Which landmark 1952 painting did Helen Frankenthaler create using her new soak-stain technique?
Quiz
Which color field painter was famously inspired to change his style after visiting Frankenthaler's studio in 1953?
Quiz
How did Frankenthaler's soak-stain technique differ from Jackson Pollock's famous drip method?
Quiz
Which Canadian region inspired the soft, earthy color palette of Frankenthaler's breakthrough 1952 painting?
Quiz
What was the physical size of Helen Frankenthaler's massive painting "Mountains and Sea"?
Quiz
What major art movement did Helen Frankenthaler help transition into with her wash-like paintings?