(New York, New York, 1928 - 2011, Darien, Connecticut)
2003
Screenprint on paper
26 3/4 x 39 1/2 in. (68.1 x 100.3 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Adrian Scott
2009.42
© Estate of Helen Frankenthaler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Helen Frankenthaler earned recognition as a young artist for her innovate use of thinned paint to stain unprimed canvas. Her painting Wisdom, also in the collection of the Akron Art Museum, is typical of the artist’s early work with its lush fields of saturated color. Although Frankenthaler was initially reluctant to make prints and relished the privacy of her studio, she valued collaborating with professional printers to realize the expressive potential of prints. Commissioned by Lincoln Center in New York, and also produced in a poster version, Flirt is a 42-color screenprint that is based on a contemporary painting by the artist. Its elegant brushstrokes demonstrate Frankenthaler’s mastery of her medium and success in creating imagery that is at once evocative and abstract.