Helen Frankenthaler, The Bay, 1963. Acrylic on canvas, 80 ¾ x 81 ¾ in. (205 x 208 cm), Detroit Institute of Art, Founders Society. © 2020 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./ARSNY
Frankenthaler is a painter of scale. In common with the work of fellow Abstract Expressionist artists in America, including Morris Louis, Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollock, Frankenthaler’s paintings generally expanded in size from the 1960s. This was further enabled by the wide dimensions of the studios she occupied, and her characteristic, though not exclusive, practice of working her canvases on the floor. By working horizontally, her paint would float, rather than drip, and enable her to create expansive works, such as The Bay, seen above.
In The Bay, the artist’s pouring technique translates directly into what appears to be an aerial view of a body of water adjoining land, as modulating shades of billowy blue shift in depth and temperature, calmly flooding the space. As blue meets green, the two colors carry on a gentle, organic relationship; a condensation of detail suggests more varied forms of life at their edges. In 1966, The Bay was selected and exhibited at the American Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, along with works by Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jules Olitski–an important validation of the young artist's achievement.