Exhibitions

Helen Frankenthaler, between museum and market

At the Kunstmuseum Basel, a major retrospective of the artist's work strengthens institutional demand and accompanies the growth of values

by Maria Adelaide Marchesoni

7 May 2026

Helen Frankenthaler in her studio on East 83rd Street, New York, 1974 Creditline: Photograph by Alexander Liberman, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2000.R.19) Photo Credit: Werke © 2026 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc / ProLitteris, Zurich

5' min read

Translated by AI

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Key points

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation
The artist and his market

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Over the past few years, European museum institutions have started programming more and more women artists, turning what was once an attempt to fill a gap into an established curatorial line. From major historical retrospectives to thematic exhibitions, the exhibition landscape now reflects a widespread and structural female presence.

It is in this context that the exhibition dedicated to Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) at the Kunstmuseum Basel (18 April to 23 August 2026), an exhibition in which Frankenthaler's pictorial language emerges, based on the famous technique of soak-stain, a painting that renounces the dense gestuality of the more orthodox Abstract Expressionism to open up to a more fluid and luminous dimension, in which form and colour coincide.

With more than 50 works, 37 of which are on loan from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, spanning six decades, the exhibition offers a broad overview of the work of one of the most eminent figures of American abstraction ever to have been realised in Europe to date, as well as his first institutional solo exhibition in Switzerland. A central aspect of the exhibition project is the confrontation with historical art, a source of inspiration throughout his career. For the first time, Frankenthaler's paintings are placed in dialogue with works ranging from the 15th to the 20th century, in a juxtaposition that enriches the understanding of his abstract painting. Here are some examples: next to a painting of water lilies by Claude Monet, 'La passerelle sur le basin aut nymphéas', 1919, which is part of the Kunstmuseum's collection, hangs the work 'Claude's Message', 1976, a reinterpretation of Frankenthaler's abstract expressionism, as well as the reinterpretation of 'Fish (Still Life)', 1864 by Edouard Manet (from the Art Institute of Chicago) in the work dedicated to the artist 'For E.M.", 1981.

The impetus for the realisation of the exhibition also relies on a donation from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in 2024, as the museum's director Elena Filipovic explained. "The work 'Riverhead' (1963) arrived in Basel, filling a gap in the collection of American art, and at the same time, it was the initial spark to realise the exhibition."

«Claude’s Messag», 1976 Entstehungszeit: 1976 di Helen Frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of the visual arts and the enhancement of the artist's legacy, which became fully operational in 2013 and is now the main custodian of her legacy. It manages a significant collection of works, promoting their dissemination through loans to international museums, and supports the art system with programmes for environmental sustainability, research, conservation and scientific publications, including the catalogue raisonné. These activities are complemented by residency programmes, support for young artists and philanthropic interventions, particularly in favour of cultural institutions in times of crisis.

"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."

«For E.M.», 1981 di Helen Frankenthaler

"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.

All in all, Frankenthaler is today considered an established but still growing presence. He now ranks in the 'mid-to-high market' bracket: less expensive than the big male names of abstraction (such as Rothko or de Kooning), but in strong appreciation. In the next auction scheduled on 14 and 15 May at Sotheby's in New York, six paintings will be offered, including 'Cape Orange', a large acrylic on canvas estimated at between 3.5 and 5 million dollars.