Fierce Poise is a dazzling biography of one of the twentieth-century’s most respected painters, Helen Frankenthaler, as she came of age as both an artist and a woman in the vibrant art world of 1950s New York. Brought to vivid life by acclaimed art historian Alexander Nemerov, this book comprise a portrait as bold and distinctive as the painter herself.

Read Fierce Poise in advance and join museum staff for a book conversation followed by a gallery talk featuring Frankenthaler’s artwork Book of Clouds. Books are available at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café for a 10% discount.

Location and Schedule:

Noon–12:45pm • Book conversation in John & Robyn Horn Education Center, level 3.

12:45–1:15pm • Gallery talk with Bill Hall in SECU Collection Hall, level 3.

Gallery talk led by Bill Hall:

Bill Hall received his BFA degree in studio art from the University of Alabama and earned his MFA in painting and printmaking from the University of Texas, Austin. Hall worked at Robert Blackburn’s Printmaking Workshops and Pace Editions. He also established his own printmaking studio, called NYLE Press. Hall collaborated with many well known artists, including Helen Frankenthaler, Jim Dine, Chuck Close, Mary Heilmann, Robert Mangold and James Turrell. Bill Hall retired from Pace Editions in 2015. His home and studio are in Asheville, North Carolina.

On View:

Helen Frankenthaler (New York, NY 1928-2011 Darien, CT), Book of Clouds, 2007, Aquatint etching, woodcut, and pochoir with hand coloring on Hahnemuhle Copperplate paper, 35 5/8 x 68 1/4 inches. On loan from Bill & Sara Hall. © Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York