The University of New Mexico Art Museum (UNMAM) is among ten recipients of the 2023 Frankenthaler Prints Initiative. The initiative will provide the university art museum with a collection of Helen Frankenthaler prints and a $25,000 grant for projects or programs related to the prints.
The collection will expand the museum’s offerings of works by one of history’s most influential artists; Devin Geraci, UNMAM's manager of Communications & Audience Engagement, said in a recent University of New Mexico news release.
“Prior to this gift, the museum only had one artwork by Helen Frankenthaler in the collection,” Geraci said in the release. “We are excited to see this area of our collection grow. Helen Frankenthaler, an innovative female artist of her time and an outspoken champion of arts education, is regarded as one of the most important American Abstract Expressionist painters and printmakers of the 20th century. We hope that UNM students, faculty, and community members will enjoy having access to these works.”
The release stated that the Frankenthaler Prints Initiative aims to enhance academic institutions' collections and resources while fostering scholarly research on Frankenthaler's impact in printmaking. This year marks the second phase of the initiative, with the first cycle being launched in 2018 by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.
“This gift to the University of New Mexico Art Museum acknowledges the museum’s distinguished history of collecting prints, photographs and works on paper,” Arif Khan, UNMAM director, said in the release. “It dramatically enriches the museum and will provide our student body and faculty with access to one of the great American artists of the 20th century.”
Geraci reflected further on the benefits of the collection and grant.
“While we don’t have a program planned yet, we look forward to celebrating these works with the UNM community,” she said in the release. “This gift will enrich student and faculty experiences, particularly in the Beaumont Newhall Study Room.”
