Jane Frank facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jane Frank
Jane Frank
Born	Jane Babette Schenthal (1918-07-25)July 25, 1918 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	May 31, 1986(1986-05-31) (aged 67) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	Maryland Institute College of Art, Parsons School of Design
Known for	Painting, Sculpture
Style	Abstract Expressionism

Jane Schenthal Frank (born Jane Babette Schenthal) (July 25, 1918 – May 31, 1986) was an American artist. She was known for many types of art, including painting, sculpture, mixed media art, and even textile art. Her abstract paintings often looked like landscapes and used different materials. You can find her art in famous places like the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She learned from well-known artists like Hans Hofmann.

Her Art Style

Jane Frank was a student of the painter Hans Hofmann. Her art style is called abstract expressionism. This means her paintings didn't show real things exactly as they look. Instead, they used colors, shapes, and textures to express feelings or ideas. Even though her art was abstract, she often found inspiration in nature, especially landscapes. She once said that landscapes were like a "metaphor" for her.

Later in her career, her paintings started to look more like aerial landscapes, which are views seen from above, like from an airplane. Her sculptures often had a simple, clean style called minimalism. Jane Frank's work connects both older "modern art" and newer "contemporary art" styles. She called her artworks "inscapes", which means they were like inner landscapes or worlds.

Her Early Life

Learning Commercial Art

Jane Frank, whose maiden name was Jane Schenthal, went to the Park School in Baltimore. She first studied art at the Maryland Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Maryland Institute College of Art). In 1935, she earned a diploma in commercial art and fashion illustration. This means she learned to create art for advertising and fashion.

She then continued her training in New York City at what is now the Parsons School of Design. She graduated from there in 1939. After finishing school, she worked in advertising design and also acted in plays during the summer. She started painting seriously in 1940.

Becoming a Painter

Jane Frank once wrote that before 1940, her art experience was all about commercial art. When she started painting seriously, she felt she had to forget everything she had learned in school. She began to study the history of painting. She looked at art from cave paintings all the way to the Renaissance. Then, she focused on artists like Cézanne, Picasso, and De Kooning. She also became very interested in texture and using thick paint.

Marriage, Family, and Children's Books

After returning to Baltimore, Jane married Herman Benjamin Frank in 1941. She had been working as a commercial artist for department stores and advertising agencies. However, she decided to focus on her marriage and family. After getting married, she always signed her artworks as "Jane Frank." Her husband, who was a builder, built their home, which included a special studio for her art. Jane Frank returned to painting seriously in 1947.

While raising her family and becoming a serious painter, she also illustrated three children's books. One book, Monica Mink (1948), had her own funny story in verse and her illustrations. It was about a mink who learned to listen to her mother. She also illustrated The Further Adventures of Till Eulenspiegel (1957) by Thomas Yoseloff. Her illustrations for this book showed her interest in combining different textures and strong diagonal lines. Her obituary also mentions a third children's book she wrote and illustrated called Eadie the Pink Elephant.

Health Challenges and Recovery

Art history professor Phoebe B. Stanton noted that Jane Frank faced two serious illnesses after 1947. These illnesses stopped her from working for long periods. The first was a bad car accident in 1952, which needed many surgeries and a long time to recover. The second was a very serious illness after her art show in 1958. This illness was so severe that it stopped her painting for about two years. Despite these challenges, she continued her artistic journey.

From the Late 1950s to Late 1960s

Studying with Hans Hofmann and "Sculptural Landscapes"

Even with her health problems, the late 1950s were very important for Jane Frank as an artist. After recovering from her 1952 accident, she studied with the famous abstract expressionist painter Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1956. This experience greatly inspired and encouraged her. Soon after, she had solo art shows at the Baltimore Museum of Art (1958), the Corcoran Gallery of Art (1962), and other places.

In 1962, she won a Rinehart Fellowship. This allowed her to study sculpture with Norman Carlberg at the Rinehart School of Sculpture. This might seem like a new direction, but her paintings from 1962, like "Crags and Crevices," already looked "sculptural." They had thick layers of gesso, which is a material used to prepare canvases.

Jane Frank was very interested in how space worked in her art. She said she was trying to make it look like there were deep passages in her paintings. This is why many of her titles included words like "crevice." Her large painting "Crags and Crevices" (from 1961) was a highlight of her 1962 show.

Using Different Materials and Techniques

After her show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Jane Frank started adding many different materials to her paintings. She used things like sea glass, burnt driftwood, small stones, crushed graphite, and even pieces of other painted canvas. She glued these materials onto her abstract paintings. She wanted her art to be "painterly" (like a painting) but also have a real three-dimensional space. Her art shows in New York and Baltimore in the mid-1960s featured many of these rich and varied mixed media paintings.

Paintings with "Windows"

Later, she began making irregular holes in her canvases. She called these "apertures" or "windows." These holes showed deeper layers of painted canvas underneath. Sometimes she used two or even three canvases layered together. She also painted "false shadows" to make the art look even more three-dimensional. These artworks were a type of "shaped canvas," meaning the canvas itself was shaped in an unusual way, not just a flat rectangle.

These "windowed" paintings also showed a stronger interest in bright colors. For example, her large painting "Aerial View no. 1" (1968) used bold colors. This painting is at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and was one of her favorites.

Standing Out from the Crowd

Jane Frank's complex and detailed artworks were very different from the popular art styles of the 1960s, like pop art or minimalism. Her art also didn't look like the calm "color field" paintings of other artists. Her canvases, which looked like they had been shaped by geology (like mountains or rocks), were unique. This made her art stand out.

Because her style was so different and she didn't focus on the busy New York art scene, her career and influence on American art were somewhat limited at the time. However, many people today agree that her works are powerful and beautiful, no matter what was popular back then. Dr. Phoebe Stanton, an art expert, said that a painting like "Winter Windows" can make you feel awe and wonder. She noted that the balance of color and texture in her art was so perfect that even a small change would ruin it.

After 1967: Sculptures and "Aerial" Paintings

Sculptures: Depths, Shadows, and Reflections

In the late 1960s, Jane Frank started making free-standing sculptures. These were actual sculptures, not just "sculptural paintings." Her sculptures often had clean lines and smooth surfaces, made from materials like shiny lucite or aluminium. These were very different from the rough, earthy textures of her earlier "sculptural landscape" paintings. She worked closely with a machinist to create her metal pieces.

She continued to have many solo art shows around the world, including in New York City, London, and Paris. She also won the Sculpture Prize at the Maryland Artists Exhibition in 1983.

Aerial Landscape Paintings

Even while making sculptures, Jane Frank continued to create her mixed media paintings on canvas almost until the end of her life. She kept exploring her "windowed" paintings and began her "Aerial Series." These paintings looked more and more like landscapes seen from high above. A special group of these were her "Night Landings" paintings, like "Night Landings: Sambura" (1970). These showed city lights twinkling below, like jewels in a dark river valley at night.

Jane Frank also designed rugs and tapestries. She passed away on May 31, 1986.

Understanding Jane Frank's Work

Art experts have said that Jane Frank's "landscape" art was a way for her to show deep ideas. They felt her art helped people connect with nature's basic elements. Her works were both visually interesting and seemed to take you beyond the physical world.

Julia M. Busch, another art expert, pointed out that even Jane Frank's sculptures avoided looking like human bodies. They were "environmental," meaning they were made to be much larger or smaller than human size, so you wouldn't confuse them with people.

In her paintings from the 1960s, Jane Frank often avoided showing a clear horizon or sky. It was hard to tell which way was up. She often used strong diagonal lines instead of horizontal ones. Also, the size of the scene in her paintings was often unclear. For example, a scene could look like a huge mountain gorge or a tiny water path.

Jane Frank herself said that landscape was a natural "metaphor" for her. She wanted to create her own landscapes using shapes and patterns. She was inspired by rocks, minerals, and driftwood. She also wanted to show what was "within" an object, not just its outside. She believed artists must create their own unique vision.

Her paintings from the late 1950s and 1960s were never just pretty. They often had a sense of movement or even strong energy. For example, in "Crags and Crevices," the shapes seem to float and collide. She used both thin, see-through paint and thick, textured paint.

Around 1970, with her "Night Landings" paintings, her art became a bit more clear. These paintings gave a stronger sense of scale and viewpoint. For example, in "Night Landings: Nairobi," you know you are looking down from a plane at a city. The city lights look like precious jewels in a dark velvet box.

These later "aerial landscape" paintings showed a new way of looking at reality from above, which was still a new idea in art at the time. Art expert Margret Dreikausen said that Jane Frank's aerial paintings combined views from the air with memories from the ground. She noted that the "day scenes" played with real and painted shadows, inviting viewers to look closely at the textures. The "night landings" focused on the city, with its "enticing twinkling lights," suggesting the mystery of an unknown city.

Collections

Jane Frank's paintings and mixed media artworks are in many public collections. You can find her art at places like the Corcoran Gallery of Art (with "Amber Ambience" from 1964), the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Baltimore Museum of Art (with "Winter's End" from 1958). Her works are also in many other museums, universities, companies, and private collections.

Her sculptures can be seen in public collections, including at Towson State University.