Helen FrankenthalerAmerican, 1928–2011Rio Grande
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Rio Grande” now? Minneapolis Institute of Art, G371, Minneapolis. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
Closing soon· until 5:00 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Closely identified with the second generation of Abstract Expressionists, Frankenthaler invariably used the basic visual elements of color and pictorial space as a means to achieve an emotional resonance in her non-objective compositions. Her innovative technique of pouring diluted paint directly on unprimed canvas-known as stain painting-was her signature style. This act of pouring became a literal metaphor for larger concepts like nature. Using line, color and texture, her aim is always to make beautiful works that evoke deeper emotions. In Rio Grande, 1987, Frankenthaler chose vivid blues and a muddied red punctuated by gesture marks.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 2018.104.5
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — © Estate of Helen Frankenthaler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
In the life of Helen Frankenthaler
The whole life1985–1992
The National Council on the Arts
From 1985 to 1992 she serves, as a presidential appointee, on the National Council on the Arts, which advises the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
1986
The New York City Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture
She receives the New York City Mayor’s Award of Honor for Arts and Culture.
1989
A New York Times commentary on NEA funding
In a commentary for The New York Times she writes that censorship and government interference in the directions and standards of art are dangerous and not part of the democratic process, while controversial grants to Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe and others reflect a trend of supporting work of increasingly dubious quality. She thus takes a highly public stance in the late-1980s “culture wars”.
1989–1990
Painting retrospective: Fort Worth and MoMA
The retrospective “Helen Frankenthaler: a Painting Retrospective” opens at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (1989–90) and then travels to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
