Helen Frankenthaler (1928 – 2011) was a pioneering American Abstract Expressionist painter, known for her large-scale works and influence on postwar American painting. Exhibiting for over six decades, she spanned multiple generations of abstract painters and was a key figure in the Colour Field movement. In the 1960s, she shifted towards incorporating recognisable motifs and characters. Receiving notable press coverage, she was featured in major exhibitions worldwide, including a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and earning her the National Medal of Arts in 2001.