Frankenthaler: A Catalogue Raisonne Prints, 1961-1994

Harrison, Pegram. SIGNED - Frankenthaler: A Catalogue Raisonne Prints, 1961-1994. Introduction by Suzanne Boorsch. New York: Harry Abrams, 1996. First Edition. Printed and bound in Spain. 510p (376 illustrations, 306 plates in full color). 10.50x1.90x12.00. Blue cloth hardcover blind-stamped with gilt title on spine. Light blue and white illustrated dust jacket with black titles. In VERY GOOD+ Collectible condition. Bright cloth hardcover with unfaded gilt. Boldly SIGNED: Frankenthaler on the title page in black sharpie (see all photos). Crisp, clean interior pages, with very faint stains to top page edge. Slight shelf wear to dust jacket, mild edge wear to top/bottom dj spine. With 376 illustrations, including 306 plates in full color. All of Frankenthaler's 235 edition prints are reproduced in full color, as are more than seventy proofs, there are also an additional 70 black and white illustrations, including photographs of the artist at various workshops. This sumptuously illustrated catalogue raisonne is an essential reference work for collectors, dealers, scholars and students, not only of Frankenthaler's prints but also of printmaking in the second half of the 20th century. Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) was among the most influential artists of the mid-20th century. Introduced early in her career to major artists such as Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline (and Robert Motherwell, whom she later married), Frankenthaler was influenced by their Abstract Expressionist painting practices, but developed her own distinct approach to the style. She invented the "soak-stain" technique, in which she poured turpentine-thinned paint onto canvas, producing luminous color washes that appeared to merge with the canvas and deny any hint of three-dimensional illusionism. Her breakthrough gave rise to the movement promoted by the influential art critic Clement Greenberg as the "next big thing" in American art: Color Field Painting, marked by airy compositions that celebrated the joys of pure color. Later in her career, Frankenthaler turned her attention to other artistic media, most notably woodcuts, in which she achieved the quality of painting. Scarce, SIGNED, Collectible First Edition.