Mary Frank
Maurice Sanchez, printer
1992-1993
Workshop: March 31-April 1, 1992
Mary Frank was born in London and studied at the American Artists School. She is primarily a sculptor and painter. Her work is in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Frank is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and has received the Guggenheim Award and the Lee Krasner Award from the Pollock/Krasner Foundation. Her work has been included in many exhibitions, and she has taught at Bard College and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
Well known for her sculptures, drawings, and prints, Frank began making monotypes in 1967. Typically, she uses stencils in making her unique prints, rolling them with ink and manipulating the surface with rags or her fingers. She often works in series in this manner, also incorporating “ghosts” (lighter impressions taken from a monotype plate after an impression has already been printed) into other works. For her workshop Frank brought with her over 100 stencils, from which she selected several to layer images of standing, kneeling, and running women juxtaposed with natural objects such as leaves or flowers. These figures float against blocks of color, creating a mysterious and mythic scene without any defined narrative.
Mary Frank. American, 1933 –
Monotype on paper
Sheet: 29 3/4 x 41 3/4 in.
