February 2025

Helen Frankenthaler was one of the most innovative and prolific artists of her time. Her impact and legacy reverberate in art practices today and through the Foundation’s ongoing artistic, educational, and philanthropic work.

The Foundation’s philanthropic focus on climate action in the visual arts nationwide continues to be proactive as well as responsive to unforeseen urgent needs. Within days of the start of the new year we joined other foundations and cultural institutions to provide substantive financial relief to Los Angeles’s vibrant arts community, which was left devastated by the fires in January. Coinciding with the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund was the launch of the fifth application cycle of the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative.

We are entering another robust year of exhibitions and loans, research and writing projects, and public programs, in New York and internationally, centered on Frankenthaler’s work and legacy. Presented to acclaim in Florence last fall, Helen Frankenthaler: Painting without Rules opens at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in April. Placing paintings created by Frankenthaler between 1953 and 2002 in dialogue with select works by some of her contemporaries, the exhibition will include two additional major paintings by Frankenthaler that have recently entered Guggenheim Bilbao’s collection. In Wiesbaden, Germany, Helen Frankenthaler: Move and Make, at the Museum Reinhard Ernst, highlights works from the museum’s collection.

Frankenthaler’s expanding presence in Europe is paralleled by a focus on her masterful print practice at college and university museums throughout the US. Phase II of the Frankenthaler Prints Initiative kicked off earlier this year at the University of New Mexico Art Museum, the first of several university museums to mount exhibitions of their gifts from the Foundation, for both artistic and educational advancement.

The Foundation’s unwavering philanthropic efforts continue as part of a larger vision to broaden the reach of Frankenthaler’s legacy. Intertwined with our scholarly, educational, and curatorial objectives, these programs—including scholarships and professional development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in the arts, recognition of exceptional talent through named residencies and awards, and support for artists and cultural heritage at risk—bring an invigorated sense of purpose to our work. Furthermore, visitors to our website will note a new category that focuses on contributions by Foundation interns and Helen Frankenthaler Fellows at various educational institutions and programs we support.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, we anticipate rethinking and updating aspects of our digital presence as we start planning in earnest for future milestone projects, including Helen Frankenthaler’s centennial year, in 2028.

To keep apprised of all our programs and initiatives, we invite you to visit our website often for updates, to follow us on social media, and to subscribe to the Foundation’s newsletter if it does not already reach you.

Elizabeth Smith, Executive Director