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Helen Frankenthaler

Massachusetts museum acquires Frankenthaler watercolors

Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Helen Frankenthaler, ‘Provincetown Series,’ 1960, watercolor on paper, 35 ⅛ by 35in, PAAM collection, gift of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, 2022. © 2022 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.
Helen Frankenthaler, ‘Provincetown Series,’ 1960, watercolor on paper, 35 ⅛ by 35in, PAAM collection, gift of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, 2022. © 2022 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. – Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) is pleased to announce the acquisition of five Helen Frankenthaler watercolor works created by the artist in Provincetown, after having displayed them in a 2018 PAAM exhibition titled Abstract Climates: Helen Frankenthaler in Provincetown.

Curated by Lise Motherwell, a stepdaughter of the artist, PAAM board president, and chair of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation; and Elizabeth Smith, founding executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the 2018 show focused on the work Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) created in Provincetown between 1950 and 1969, offering a new perspective on this aspect of her oeuvre.

Helen Frankenthaler, ‘Provincetown Series #2,’ 1960, watercolor and crayon on paper, 35 ⅛ by 35in, PAAM collection, gift of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, 2022. © 2022 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.
Helen Frankenthaler, ‘Provincetown Series #2,’ 1960, watercolor and crayon on paper, 35 ⅛ by 35in, PAAM collection, gift of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, 2022. © 2022 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.

PAAM has now secured five paintings that were included in the exhibition for its permanent collection, thanks to Motherwell and the Frankenthaler Foundation. “As the curator [of Abstract Climates] the saddest moment for me was watching the show come down, knowing that I probably would never see these paintings again … I can’t tell you how happy I am to bring [these five paintings] home,” said Motherwell.

The Provincetown Series is comprised of five watercolors: Provincetown Series, 1960; Provincetown Series #2, 1960; Provincetown Series II, 1960; Provincetown Series #3, 1960; and Provincetown Series, 1960.

Helen Frankenthaler, ‘Provincetown Series II,’ 1960, watercolor and crayon on paper, 19 by 23 ¾in, PAAM collection, gift of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, 2022. © 2022 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.
Helen Frankenthaler, ‘Provincetown Series II,’ 1960, watercolor and crayon on paper, 19 by 23 ¾in, PAAM collection, gift of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, 2022. © 2022 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.

When the works were displayed at PAAM in 2018, some of them hadn’t been viewed publicly in nearly 40 years. In addition to being a major series, these are the first works by Frankenthaler to be included in PAAM’s permanent collection, where they can be regularly exhibited and used for museum education. “The Provincetown Series belongs in Provincetown,” said PAAM CEO Christine McCarthy.

Visit the website of Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM).