“We have received more and more requests from important international museums,” says Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Director, “especially since 2019, when we organised the presentation of the collection at Palazzo Grimani in Venice. Since then, many institutions have contacted us, both for individual loans for specific exhibitions and for larger selections of works for major exhibitions, and the exhibition at the Kunstmuseum is a significant example of this.
“Since its establishment in 2013,” explains the director, “the Foundation has always supported museums and cultural organisations. Starting in 2020, we have also introduced forms of unrestricted grant, offering more flexible support to institutions that are already partners, to help them cope with a particularly complex time. Our support is not aimed at individuals, but at institutions. Among the most recent programmes is HF Climate Change, now in its sixth year, through which we help museums and organisations to reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency and free up resources for exhibition activities. Currently targeting US institutions and launched in 2021, the initiative has already distributed over $17.5 million to 249 organisations.”
“Helen Frankenthaler never wanted a museum dedicated to her: she preferred her legacy to be used for the international circulation of the works and the dissemination of her work around the world. The Foundation does not charge loan fees, but the museums have to bear the costs associated with lending, and among the most important costs are transport and insurance costs, in relation to the current value of the works; in some cases we intervene directly by offering financial support. Our activities are made possible by a solid endowment, as well as the occasional sale of some works, which allows us to finance both loans and support programmes. Interest in Frankenthaler’s work is constantly growing, especially in Europe but also in Asia and South America. More and more institutions recognise her role as an innovator of abstract painting and as a key figure as a female artist. We have an important collection and can make it globally accessible. Some areas, such as the Middle East, are still less involved, while in Asia – in particular Japan and Korea – requests are increasing,’ she concludes
The artist and his market
A pioneering figure of Abstract Expressionism, Frankenthaler (1928-2011) occupies a central position in post-war American art. His soak-stain technique revolutionised abstract painting and contributed to the development of ‘Colour Field Painting’ in the United States from the mid-1950s onwards, alongside leading figures such as Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.
Helen Frankenthaler’s market has strengthened especially since the 2000s in the context of a broader revaluation of post-war artists. Today, it is in the medium-high range: the most important works, in particular the large canvases from the 1960s and 1970s linked to the soak-stain technique, achieve sums of between 4 and 7 million dollars. The record is held by ‘Royal Fireworks’ (1975), which sold for approximately $6.7m at Sotheby’s in June 2020 against an estimate of between $2m and $3m. Other significant works steadily exceed the million mark, with results sometimes exceeding estimates, as demonstrated by a 2026 sale at Christie’s New York: ‘Strike (1965), estimated at up to $800,000, sold for $1.175m.
It is, however, a selective market, strongly linked to the quality, period and size of the works, and therefore less uniform than other protagonists of Abstract Expressionism. A distinctive feature is the broad collector base, which goes beyond abstraction specialists, contributing to a relatively stable demand. More affordable but also more variable is the segment of works on paper and prints. average prices in 2025 are around $8,500, with some stability but declining volumes compared to recent peaks. This reflects a general slowdown of the market, rather than a loss of specific interest.
