Harold Frank (American born in England, 1921-1995). "Two Lovely Pink/Grey Heads" mixed media on illustration board, n.d. A stunning composition by Harold Frank depicting an Abstract-Expressionist rendering of two female heads in shades of pink and grey (as noted in the title) as well as blue-violet and golden yellow ochre. The idealized visages are delineated with Frank's signature expressive loose brushstrokes, lyrical contouring lines, and vibrant colors. According to scholar Sandie Stern, "Like his idol de Kooning, Frank chose the human figure, as his principal subject. Variations on women became a lifelong, consistent, ubiquitous theme." (Stern, "H. Frank", p. 16) Size: 15" L x 11.75" W (38.1 cm x 29.8 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.

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

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#175899

Signed at lower right. Very nice with vivid imagery and strong hues. Some craquelure at lower center. Paint splatters, remnants of tape around peripheries, and collection label on verso.