JUMP IN!
ELIZABETH DA COSTA + HELEN FRANKENTHALER
CELEBRATING THE THREAD BETWEEN STUDENT + MENTOR
NOVEMBER 2021
In March of 2020, Elizabeth DaCosta Ahern shared with us a series of paintings she had created in 1990–91 while studying under Helen Frankenthaler in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This “Santa Fe Series” of paintings have never before been shown and serves as the highlight of our exhibition, JUMP IN!—Frankenthaler’s encouraging words of advice to Elizabeth. Only a month later, in April 2020, Elizabeth passed away from COVID-19, one of the earliest cases in the pandemic made all too real for her family, colleagues, collectors, and friends.
A renowned artist herself, Elizabeth was also a gifted instructor, teaching students both locally and abroad. It is our pleasure to celebrate that thread between mentor and student by exhibiting, for the first time, a curated selection of artwork by Elizabeth’s own pupils alongside her paintings and works by Frankenthaler.