Helen Frankenthaler was an American-born painter, sculptor and printmaker. Frankenthaler, along with two fellow artists, led the way in the development of Color Field painting, a component of Abstract Expressionism. Frankenthaler is recognized as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century because of her great talent and ability to produce beautiful and innovative works on canvas and paper. “Frankenthaler's radiant canvases are known and admired throughout the world, his intimate and equally powerful works on paper are still unknown to the majority of the museum public (Wilkin 6).” Frankenthaler created these pieces on paper with the same vivacity as she did with her largest works on canvas, building an extensive collection of watercolors, gouaches, and mixed media. Helen Frankenthaler was born in New York on December 12, 1928 and grew up on the Upper East Side. His father was a New York State Supreme Court justice, and his mother was a German immigrant. Both parents provided Helen and her two older sisters with a privileged and progressive lifestyle. Frankenthaler was exposed to the culture throughout her life and, along with her sisters, was encouraged to prepare for a professional career. Frankenthaler attended Dalton School, New York, where she studied under Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo and later graduated from Bennington College in Vermont. Shortly after graduating from Bennington College, she returned to New York where she quickly became a member of the avant-garde art world and the New York School of Painters. Frankenthaler was surrounded by notable artists such as David Smith, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Willem and Elaine de Kooning and others. She also developed a...... middle of paper...... Frankenthaler's long career as a master in his field paved the way for other artists searching for their own identity. Without copying the work of others or appropriating it, she has developed her own style and her own way of expressing her conceptualizations and presenting them to the world. Her development, perseverance and frenzied experimentation with mediums defined her as a pioneer of her time. Works Cited Arnason, HH and Elizabeth C. Mansfield. History of modern art: painting, sculpture, architecture, photography. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. Brown, Julia. After the mountains and the sea: Frankenthaler 1956-1959. New York, New York. Gugenheim Museum Publications. 1998.Chilvers, Ian. Dictionary of art and artists. Kent, England: Grange, 2005. Wilkin, Karen. Frankenthaler: Works on paper 1949-1984. New York, New York. Brazilian. 1984.