About this artwork
Traditional triptychs from the Medieval and Renaissance periods were horizontal, with a large central image and two smaller flanking panels. Here Frankenthaler literally turned the practice on its head and conceived Lot’s Wife vertically.
The artist proudly (if slightly erroneously) recalled: “I did Lot’s Wife in one shot. I went back to do something to it and then I thought, no, don’t turn back, don’t look at it, leave it, it’s good. That’s why I called it Lot’s Wife, because she turned and became a pillar of salt.” The narrative that Frankenthaler created the print “in one shot” is undercut by the numerous working proofs that attest to the changes in the final composition.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Helen Frankenthaler
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Title
- Lot's Wife (section three of triptych)
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1971
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Medium
- Color lithograph from one stone on white Japanese paper
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Dimensions
- Image: 105.5 × 69.8 cm (41 9/16 × 27 1/2 in.); Sheet: 115.6 × 92.2 cm (45 9/16 × 36 5/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- U.L.A.E. Collection acquired through a challenge grant of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dittmer; purchased with funds provided by supporters of the Department of Prints and Drawings; Centennial Endowment; Margaret Fisher Endowment Fund
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Reference Number
- 1982.480.3
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Copyright
- © 2018 Helen Frankenthaler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York