Untitled
1955
Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928–2011)
Collage
Norton Simon Art Foundation
© Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Best known for vibrant, large-scale abstractions, made by pouring turpentine-thinned paint directly onto unprimed canvas, Helen Frankenthaler consistently explored the relationship between form and materials in her art. This comparatively diminutive collage exemplifies her experimental and instinctive approach. Combining scraps of paper and a rectangle of fraying cloth, the artist soaked the added layers in oil paint and pressed, brushed and scrunched them onto a cardboard support. The energetic, handmade aspect of her process is underscored by several handprints that punctuate the surface, evident in two sets of splayed fingers that fan out across the upper third of the composition.
An Enduring Friendship: Norton Simon and Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler made this untitled collage in 1955, the same year she met Norton Simon in New York. Her contagious enthusiasm for art—as well as the introductions she provided to key art dealers—had a direct and long-lasting effect on Simon’s early collecting. At Frankenthaler’s advice, he bought paintings by Hans Hofmann, Camille Pissarro and Henri Matisse, and she, in turn, drew inspiration from the works of art he acquired. After a visit to the newly founded Norton Simon Museum in March 1979, Frankenthaler painted Beggar, her response to the Museum’s The Ragpicker by Édouard Manet. Chief Curator Emily Talbot details the long-standing and productive friendship between Norton Simon and Helen Frankenthaler represented by this collage in the book Recollections: Stories from the Norton Simon Museum (2025).
