Back in stock! 'Helen Frankenthaler: Painting without Rules'

Featuring 150 color reproductions of artworks and ephemera alongside documentary photographs and portraits of the artist, Helen Frankenthaler: Painting without Rules examines the important Abstract Expressionist’s work and life in context of her influences and friendships—including Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Anne Truitt. “Friendship is pivotal to this project,” Douglas Dreishpoon writes. “It is another way to see and contextualize Frankenthaler’s own innovations. The painter chose her inner circle carefully, and those fortunate enough to be included were nurtured, feted, and sustained. As friends they visited one another’s studios, attended openings, celebrated successes, and kept up with life events. When tragedy struck, they came together to commiserate. Before fax machines, computers and email, Frankenthaler and her friends wrote to each other, sharing life’s ups and downs through chatty, at times serious, letters, postcards and notes.” Featured painting is “Western Dream” (1957).

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Published by Marsilio Arte, 2024

STAFF PICKS | FROM THE SHELVES

Women's History Month Staff Picks, 2026

FEATURED STORE

Institute of Contemporary Art Boston Store

Set within Boston’s iconic waterfront museum, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the ICA Store reflects the bold, contemporary spirit of its galleries with a thoughtful selection of artist collaborations, design objects, jewelry and distinctive gifts for all ages. It is a special Boston destination for art books, including exhibition catalogues, hard-to-find titles and artist monographs that extend the museum experience long after a visit. Currently, the store is featuring books and objects related to 'An Indigenous Present,' the remarkable survey of contemporary Native North American artists, musicians, filmmakers, choreographers, architects, writers, photographers and designers, conceived by Jeffrey Gibson.

FEATURED PUBLISHER

DelMonico Books

DelMonico Books publishes visually striking and award-winning books on contemporary art, photography, design and culture, working in close partnership with artists and museums in the US and abroad.
Published to accompany the traveling survey currently on view at ICA Boston, An Indigenous Present, co-published with BIG NDN Press, is a monumental gathering of more than 60 contemporary artists, photographers, musicians, writers and more, showcasing diverse approaches to Indigenous concepts, forms and mediums. Forthcoming staff favorites include the exhibition catalog Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Multiple Offerings, co-published with Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and the photography monograph Melissa Auf der Maur: My ’90s Rock Photographs, co-published with Art Gallery of Ontario.

CURATED ART LIBRARIES

Curated Libraries by Movement and Subject Area

Shop By Color	Black Art & Culture	Women Artists	Illustrated Literary Classics
Danish Design	Classic Photobooks	Pop Art	Outsider Art
Avant Garde Music & Dance	Product Design Bookshelf	Performance Art	Bauhaus
Surrealism	Dada	Contemporary Figurative Painting	Modern and Contemporary Drawing
Photography: Photojournalism	Photography: Polaroids	Feminist Art	Graphic Design Bookshelf
Photography: New Topographics	Sound Art	Collage & Photomontage	Architecture: Essential Books
Urban Studies	German Expressionism	Curatorial Studies	Contemporary Sculpture
Prints & Graphics	Pacific Standard Time	Pictures Generation	Beautiful Losers
Nouveau Realisme	Sustainable Design	Films & Filmmakers	Relational Aesthetics
Conceptual Art	Lee Friedlander Library	Artists Books	Essential Photography Reference Books