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Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928–2011). Lorelei, 1957. Oil on untreated cotton duck, 70 5/8 x 86 3/4 in. (179.4 x 220.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Allan D. Emil, 58.39. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 58.39_PS11.jpg)
Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928–2011). Lorelei, 1957. Oil on untreated cotton duck, 70 5/8 x 86 3/4 in. (179.4 x 220.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Allan D. Emil, 58.39. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 58.39_SL1.jpg)
Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928–2011). Lorelei, 1957. Oil on untreated cotton duck, 70 5/8 x 86 3/4 in. (179.4 x 220.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Allan D. Emil, 58.39. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 58.39_bw.jpg)
Lorelei
Helen Frankenthaler
Contemporary Art
A leader of the second generation of Abstract Expressionists, in the early 1950s Helen Frankenthaler developed a unique technique, diluting traditional oil paints with turpentine, allowing for what she termed a “soak stain” on an unprimed canvas. For Lorelei, inspired by a boat ride on Germany’s Rhine River, Frankenthaler positioned her canvas on the floor, moving her body around its perimeter and gaining new vantage points while pouring, tossing, and flicking paint from cans and brushes. The artist avoided applied brushstrokes; she told the Brooklyn Museum in 1966 that she preferred “an immediate, allover look . . . something that looks as if it were all born at once. As if it happened.” This emphasis on energy over exacting composition was perceived as an avant-garde break from centuries of Western painting traditions, garnering critical and collector support.
MEDIUM
Oil on untreated cotton duck
DATES
1957
DIMENSIONS
70 5/8 x 86 3/4 in. (179.4 x 220.3 cm)
frame: 75 x 91 7/8 x 2 1/2 in. (190.5 x 233.4 x 6.4 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Unsigned
COLLECTIONS
Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
58.39
CREDIT LINE
Purchase gift of Allan D. Emil
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928–2011). Lorelei, 1957. Oil on untreated cotton duck, 70 5/8 x 86 3/4 in. (179.4 x 220.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Allan D. Emil, 58.39. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 58.39_PS11.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 58.39_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2022
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
© artist or artist's estate
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