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The nephew of the groundbreaking artist Helen Frankenthaler is suing his relatives, claiming in a scathing lawsuit that they are exploiting Frankenthaler’s foundation—and her legacy—for their own personal gain.
The nephew, private equity firm founder Frederick Iseman, claims to have had a “uniquely close relationship” with his late aunt, a major American abstract expressionist painter. Iseman previously served on the board of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation alongside another of Frankenhaler’s nephew’s, Clifford Ross, her stepdaughter, Lise Motherwell, and director Michael Hecht.
Iseman claims Frankenthaler intended the Foundation to arrange for major showings of her art at prestigious institutions and provide grants to highly esteemed artists and critics. Instead, he claims, his fellow board members used their access to Frankenthaler’s work to boost their own profiles—and even suggested winding down the foundation so they could sell off her art.