Scene with Blue 6
Artist
Helen Frankenthaler
(American, 1928 - 2011)
CultureAmerican
Date1961
MediumOil on sized, primed canvas
DimensionsOverall: 64 x 80 in. (162.6 x 203.2 cm)
SignedLower right, in image: "Frankenthaler"
InscribedWritten on stretcher (on verso): "64 x 80" Scene with Blue Six Frankenthaler 1961
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.646
Collections
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 217
Label TextHelen Frankenthaler American, 1928–2011 Scene with Blue 6, 1961 Oil on canvas Highly sensitive to innovation and process, Chrysler recognized Helen Frankenthaler as a leading figure in the male-dominated New York art world. Paint and canvas merge in this work to create a lively sense of movement and flow. Helen Frankenthaler invented the “soak-stain” technique in 1953, when she allowed diluted oil paints to saturate her raw canvas. She adapted the process here by adding a few dynamic lines and spatters. The resulting image reads almost as a window opening onto a scene of strange trees, glowing orbs, and colorful numbers. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.646 ProvenanceFrom Oscar Krasner, Inc., New York, to Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., 1965. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., to Chrysler Museum of Art, 1971.Exhibition History"American Paintings in Southern Museums," Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN, September 20 - October 31, 1975. "Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. "The Common Wealth: American Masterpieces from Virginia Collections," Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Va., December 1, 1990 - February 3, 1991. "Action Paintings," Waitzer Community Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 17, 2009 - May 23, 2010. "Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010. "Remix Redux: A Fresh Mix For Our Modern And Contemporary Galleries," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, August 15 - December 30, 2012. Multiple Moderisms, Modern and Contemporary Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, April 2018 - present (Sept 2020)Published References_The Chrysler Museum: Selections from the Permanent Collection_ (Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum, 1982) 110. Ruth Stevens Appelhof, _The Common Wealth_ (Roanoke, VA: Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, 1990) 32.
