Harold Frank (American born in England, 1921-1995). "Red Purple Dialogue" mixed media on paper. Signed at lower right. A very intriguing mixed media composition by Harold Frank that depicts the heads of two men engaged in conversation, delineated with Frank's signature expressive brushstrokes, lyrical contouring lines, gestures created with sharp objects like the back of a brush, and vibrant color palette. Like many of Frank's works, this piece emanates an air of mystery that begs for interpretation. Just what are these individuals discussing - politics, the weather, a work of art? Scholar Sandie Stern found the following quote in Frank's clippings which captures his desire to challenge the viewer, "In front of a work of 'constructed' art never say: I can make nothing of it. It is not your intellect that is being appealed to, but your sensibility." A powerful work delineated in Frank's Abstract Expressionist manner that demonstrates the artist's exhaustive experimentation with technique and materials. Size (artwork): 11.4" L x 9.375" W (29 cm x 23.8 cm) Size (matte): 18" L x 16" W (45.7 cm x 40.6 cm)

Elenore Welles' essay in Sandie Stern's "Harold Frank Abstract Expressionist 1921-1995" (2001) speaks to Harold Frank's tireless exploration of medium and technique. She writes, "The overriding desire to make the artworks fresh leads to constant experimentation with materials and textures. Working with enamel and water-based paints, he explores the inherent qualities of the paper, canvas, and corrugated board, seeking to achieve unusual effects with the back of a brush, a razor, or a screw driver. He looks for surprises."

Harold Frank immigrated with his family to the US through Ellis Island. Growing up in the tenements of the Lower East Side in New York City during the era of the Great Depression and World War II, Frank found Abstract Expressionism to be the ideal means to explore the angst of his world. He once stated, "I can live with the abstract. Life is a mystery."

Frank studied at the Art Students League in New York, the National Academy of Design, the Pratt Institute, the Chouinard Art Institute, and UCLA where he was a colleague of Richard Diebenkorn (American, 1922-1993), an artist who is oftentimes associated with Abstract Expressionism as well as a pioneer of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. In addition to Diebenkorn, Frank's influences include DeKooning, Picasso, Matisse, and Rouault. While he also created landscapes, non-objective abstract compositions, and still-life paintings, figures and head studies were the predominant theme of his oeuvre.

For more about Harold Frank, see Sandie Stern's monograph "Harold Frank Abstract Expressionist 1921-1995" (2001).

Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection, acquired via descent, purchased from artist on June 25th, 1973

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#175904

Artwork is excellent. Signed at lower right. Set in original custom triple matte. Collection labels on verso. Paint splatters on verso. A few scuffs and stains to matte.