English Edition

Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) was a pioneer of post-war American art. Her experimental work with paint and canvas made her one of the most significant artists of Abstract Expressionism. At the age of just 23, she asserted herself in a male-dominated environment and became a pioneer of colour field painting. Soon, she developed the soak-stain technique that was to become her trademark. The catalogue accompanying the exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel highlights fifty years of innovative painting, focusing especially on Frankenthaler's intense engagement with art history.

• Insights into Helen Frankenthaler’s life and creative work, travels, and artistic inspirations gained by examining key works from five decades
• First publication in which Helen Frankenthaler’s works are compared and contrasted with those of her role models – including Édouard Manet, André Derain and Marie Laurencin
• Exhibition: Kunstmuseum Basel, New Building, April 18 to August 23, 2026

Anita Haldemann, Amanda Kopp-Kempinski, Kunstmusem Basel; Karen Wilkin, art historian, independent curator and critic