Freefall
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color woodcut on hand-dyed TGL handmade paper
Dimensions
sheet: 199.39 × 153.67 cm (78 1/2 × 60 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Helen Frankenthaler and Tyler Graphics Ltd.
Accession Number
1993.19.2
Art Historical Context
Helen Frankenthaler's *Freefall* (1993) is a striking large-scale color woodcut on hand-dyed TGL handmade paper measuring an impressive 78½ × 60½ inches. Created late in the artist's career, this print showcases her lifelong exploration of abstraction, where bold veils of color evoke fluidity and movement—hallmarks of her innovative approach. Donated to the National Gallery of Art by Frankenthaler herself and Tyler Ltd., the esteemed print workshop that collaborated with her, it highlights the generous spirit of artistic exchange in the late 20th century. As a pioneer of Color Field painting ...
About the Artist
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) was born in New York City into a cultivated family; her father was a justice of the New York Supreme Court. She studied painting at the Dalton School under the Mexican muralist Rufino Tamayo and went on to Bennington College in Vermont, graduating in 1949. Returning to New York, she entered the circle of the Abstract Expressionist painters and studied with Hans Hofm...