The Fireworks That Set Helen Frankenthaler's Auction Record
3 min read · 12 Aug 2025
Royal Fireworks. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Helen Frankenthaler's Royal Fireworks (1975) sold for $7.9m at Sotheby's in New York on June 29, 2020. The acrylic on canvas work had been traded 5 times in the past.
Frankenthaler carved her own niche in the mainly male world of Abstract Expressionism. Painted in 1975, her Color Field canvas is a masterwork of the soak-stain technique she pioneered. It was first exhibited and sold that year at New York's André Emmerich Gallery.
In 2016, Frankenthaler's monumental canvas was a highlight of the exhibition "Women of Abstract Expressionism". The artist and her female contemporaries, many of whom had been overlooked or undervalued, were given a boost by the exhibition and publication organized by the Denver Art Museum.
The show's star loan came from the collection of the Denver-based gallerist and philanthropist, Virginia “Ginny” Williams. The record-breaking sale of Royal Fireworks from Williams' estate provided belated recognition of the female abstractionists she championed.
Blue Reach. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The sale beat the artist’s previous auction record by $4.88m, a 150% rise. Her previous record was set by Blue Reach (1978), which sold for $3.02m at Sotheby's on May 17, 2018.
A Brief History of Frankenthaler at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020-06-29 | Royal Fireworks | $7.9m | 162 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2018-05-17 | Blue Reach | $3.02m | 7 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2015-05-12 | Saturn Revisited | $2.83m | 226 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2014-11-13 | Sea Level | $869,000 | 6 % | Christie's | New York |
2011-11-09 | Royal Fireworks | $818,500 | 6 % | Christie's | New York |
2008-05-15 | Nadir Rising | $769,000 | 18 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1990-05-08 | Yellow caterpillar | $650,000 | 10 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1989-11-07 | Orange shapes in frame | $590,000 | 195 % | Christie's | New York |
1989-05-03 | Cravat | $200,000 | 18 % | Christie's | New York |
1988-05-03 | China | $170,000 | 112 % | Christie's | New York |
1982-11-10 | Red support | $80,000 | 28 % | Christie's | New York |
1979-11-08 | Off White Square | $62,500 | 52 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1977-11-17 | Swan Lake No.2 | $41,000 | - | Christie's | New York |
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