Harold Frank (American born in England, 1921-1995). "Our Mona Lisa" painting/mixed media on cardstock paper, n.d. Signed at lower right. A breathtaking composition called "Our Mona Lisa" depicting a bust-length portrait of a woman by Harold Frank. The enchanting visage is rendered in Frank's signature loose and expressive brushstrokes, bold contouring lines, and vibrant color palette. 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 (sight view): 9.375" L x 7.375" W (23.8 cm x 18.7 cm) Size (frame): 15.125" L x 12.125" W (38.4 cm x 30.8 cm)

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 June 25, 1973

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#174796

Signed by the artist at lower right. Mounted in frame behind glass; artwork can be removed from frame if desired. On verso of artwork is a label identifying the piece as "Mona Lisa" as well as a name handwritten in pencil that is difficult to discern followed by "6/23/73 gift". Frame has a few scuffs/nicks as shown and is fit with suspension hardware. Label attached to verso of frame with handwritten "Our Mona Lisa" and inventory number.