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LOT 203

1928 - 2011
American

Untitled
acrylic on paper
signed and on verso dated 1982 on the gallery label
19 1/2 x 26 1/2 in, 49.5 x 67.3 cm

Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000 CAD

Sold for: $61,250

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
Gallery One, Toronto
The Joan Stewart Clarke Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Helen Frankenthaler: Recent Works on Paper, Gallery One, 1983, reproduced, unpaginated

EXHIBITED
Gallery One, Toronto, Helen Frankenthaler: Recent Works on Paper, April 2 – 21, 1983, catalogue #9


Despite being best known as both a Colour Field painter and a lyrical abstractionist, Helen Frankenthaler did not prioritize a specific method or painterly technique through her career - the technical process was ancillary to its capacity to create emotive, dynamically expressive works. To this end, her mature works on paper, characterized by the use of pure hues of radiant colour and the dissolution of the distinction between figure and ground, are the culmination of her earlier experimentations.

This work is a fine example of her elevation of the medium. As in her earlier, post-war paintings, here paint is applied without unifying form or pattern; the sheet is only partially covered and the white field is painted with irregular transparency. Thicker paint in lavenders and ochres is applied in calligraphic spatters and mellow, gestural drags. Untitled maintains the formal qualities of her Colour Field works through its clarity and misty saturation (Frankenthaler would dampen the sheets before working), while remaining suspended in the milieu of works on paper. The overall impression evokes a clarity of feeling and atmosphere, presenting an outstanding example of her understanding of painting on its own terms at a smaller scale.

For the biography on Joan Stewart Clarke in PDF format please click here.


Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.