Artist Helen Frankenthaler’s family accused in NY lawsuit

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By Isabel Vincent

It’s an art-world household feud as a nephew of legendary artist Helen Frankenthaler is accusing family of “grabstract expressionism” in a brand new lawsuit that additionally slams one cousin’s work as “unremarkable.”

The administrators of a $1 billion basis meant to advertise the artist’s work are partaking in “pay to play” transactions to pump up their personal work — and “destroying” the summary expressionist’s legacy as probably the most necessary American painters of the final century, in accordance with the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in New York State Supreme Court docket.

The feud finds Frankenthaler’s nephew Frederick Iseman — an ousted board member of the Helen Frankenthaler Basis Inc. — suing his artist cousin Clifford Ross, in addition to Lise Motherwell, who’s the late painter’s step-daughter.

Each are on the board.

“They’ve been performing as if they’re members of some small, non-public clique, utilizing their roles as administrators of the board of the muse to advertise their very own careers and status, to not point out buying and selling basis property for his or her private profit,” the courtroom paperwork say.

In a intelligent twist, the lawsuit accuses the plaintiffs of “partaking in a sort of ‘grabstract expressionism’ that’s successfully destroying Frankenthaler’s legacy.”

It additionally claims that Iseman, 71, was faraway from the board by different members who “secretly schemed” to do away with him earlier this 12 months.

Michael Hecht, a New York-based accountant and board member, is called as a defendant however just isn’t a member of the family.

A consultant for the Helen Frankenthaler Basis had no remark.

The lawsuit refers to Ross’ “struggling creative profession” and notes that whereas he “could have skilled a measure of success in some unspecified time in the future in his profession … these days have lengthy since handed.”

The go well with doesn’t maintain again in its portrayal of Ross, 71, who’s the board’s president.

It alleges that the skilled artist, and son of Frankenthaler’s center sister, Gloria, engaged in “pay to play” transactions for his personal profit — and disses his expertise.

Ross allegedly traded $1.8 million in basis grants between 2013 and 2021 in alternate for exhibitions of his “personal in any other case unremarkable paintings and to generate publicity for his personal profession,” courtroom paperwork say.

The go well with accuses Ross of “self-dealing” and utilizing the muse’s affect and funds to get his personal work seen —offering “him with a platform from which he can not promote himself,” the courtroom submitting says. It alleges that he used basis funds to make donations to small non-profit magazines, reminiscent of Bomb and Brooklyn Rail, in alternate for selling his work of their articles.

In 2021, the muse donated $75,000 to the Nationwide Gallery of Artwork in Washington, DC, the place Frankenthaler’s seminal portray “Mountains and Seas” is on long-term mortgage.

A 12 months later, Ross provided to donate one among his personal works to the gallery for its everlasting assortment, which the gallery accepted however didn’t place on public view.

As soon as the reward was accepted, the authorized papers say, he promoted himself much more: directing the muse to replace his biography on its web site to acknowledge that his work was within the Nationwide Gallery’s assortment, in accordance with authorized papers.

In line with the lawsuit, as soon as Ross took over as president from Iseman, he “even had the chutzpah” to “instantly” replace his personal Wikipedia web page to replicate it, underneath the pseudonym Brooklynartlover.

For his half, Hecht engaged two of his personal accounting companies to do work for the muse — a battle of curiosity for board members, the lawsuit says.

“Hecht by no means sought an exterior audit of the muse’s financials, regardless of the muse’s excessive internet price,” the lawsuit says.

He additionally used basis money to donate to establishments the place he serves as a board member — together with, the lawsuit alleges, $5 million to liberal arts faculty Bennington Faculty in Vermont the place Frankenthaler went to highschool and the place Hecht is a trustee.

Motherwell, 68, who has been president of the board of the Provincetown Artwork Affiliation and Museum (PAAM) in Provincetown, Mass., since 2017 — “a place she acquired due to her final title, familial connections and her place on the board of the muse” — used her affect as a board member to curate a present of Frankenthaler’s works in 2018 on the small museum, regardless of having no curatorial expertise, the lawsuit says.

It provides that she additionally satisfied the muse board to donate 5 Frankenthaler watercolors price $1.4 million to the museum.

“The donation furthered her status and cemented PAAM’s debt to her,” the lawsuit says, including that Motherwell additionally requested the muse pay her $180 per hour for her work on the board.

Frankenthaler, who died in 2011, began the eponymous basis in 1984 to safeguard her legacy and promote her work world wide, in accordance with the nonprofit’s mission assertion.

In line with the courtroom papers, she personally named Iseman, a philanthropist and founding father of non-public fairness agency CI Capital Companions, to the board of administrators.

Iseman had “a uniquely shut relationship” along with his aunt “and served on the board with no monetary pursuits” till his dismissal, in accordance with the lawsuit.

Born in 1928, Frankenthaler’s creative genius was famous at a younger age when, at 9 years previous, she received an honorable point out in a drawing contest sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue.

Following her commencement from Bennington, she returned to New York and started her creative profession influenced by modern artist Jackson Pollock, amongst others.

She married artist Robert Motherwell in 1958 however divorced him in 1971.

The muse is the first beneficiary of Frankenthaler’s work, in accordance with her 2004 will, courtroom paperwork say.

Among the artist’s work, which has offered for hundreds of thousands of {dollars} and is featured on the Museum of Fashionable Artwork and different necessary venues world wide, will be auctioned this week by Christie’s in New York.

These works aren’t owned by the muse, in accordance with the public sale home’s catalogue, which has set estimates as excessive as $1 million.