Helen Frankenthaler receiving the National Medal of Arts
A New York judge has dismissed the lawsuit against the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation brought by its former president.
I have previously covered the Frankenthaler Foundation lawsuit, explaining its origins and detailing its progress. To recap, Frederick Iseman, the artist’s nephew and former president of the foundation, is attempting to sue not only the foundation but also its board members to, from his point of view, save the organization from destruction. Iseman alleges that the board members who ousted him as president in 2023 have taken advantage of the organization’s reputation and Helen Frankenthaler’s legacy to benefit their own careers and endeavors. In his initial complaint, Iseman accuses his cousin and foundation board member Clifford Ross of operating a pay-for-play system through the foundation where donations and grants would be given to cultural institutions that agreed to host shows of his work. The artist’s stepdaughter, Lise Motherwell, is accused of failing to organize any significant Frankenthaler exhibitions at a major museum, demonstrating her ineptitude as a foundation board member. However, Motherwell managed to save face slightly after announcing a major retrospective in 2028 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, to commemorate Helen Frankenthaler’s one-hundredth birthday. Finally, there are accusations against Michael Hecht, including conflicts of interest in using his accounting firms for foundation business.
The upcoming Frankenthaler retrospective at the National Gallery has been the subject of much of Iseman’s recent commentary. Though not in his lawsuit, he has launched additional allegations at the foundation board members regarding how they may have secured this exhibition. The retrospective has not yet been formally announced. Still, the National Gallery let it slip during an announcement that Harry Cooper would step down as head of the modern and contemporary art division to take on a new role as an endowed modern art curator. Iseman alleges that the major Frankenthaler painting currently on long-term loan to the museum, the 1952 work Mountains and Sea, may have been used to secure the exhibition, promising to donate the painting to the gallery in exchange. Iseman speculates that should this be the case, it is “a desperate attempt to buy the retrospective of my aunt’s art that they have promised for years but have been unable to deliver”. Roberta Kaplan, Iseman’s lawyer, wrote that such a deal would be “a scandalous breach of the director defendants’ fiduciary duties and entirely contrary to [the foundation’s] mission”.
Judge Jennifer G. Schechter of the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit due to lack of standing. Since Iseman is no longer a board member, he is not in a position to bring this suit. A foundation spokesperson called the lawsuit a “vengeful vanity exercise”. Iseman has until today, September 18th, to file an opposition. He noted that the dismissal did not comment on his accusations’ merits but rather concerned a “narrow procedural issue”. Iseman is still concerned that the remaining board members intend to carry out their alleged plans, which include selling off important Frankenthaler works in the foundation’s hands by 2030 and completely liquidating the organization by 2034. He seems confident that he will regain some lost ground on appeal. “I remain steadfast in my efforts to protect my mother’s sister, Helen Frankenthaler’s, distinguished place in the history of art”. Judge Schechter did comment that despite Iseman’s lack of standing, should there be substance to the complaint’s allegations, New York’s attorney general would be the person to investigate any foul play at the Frankenthaler Foundation.