Natalie Frank's art explores themes of power and the human form. In her visual storytelling, she emphasizes the way power shifts. When discussing the historical narrative of women’s bodies, Frank uses erotic literature and dark fairy tales as inspiration.
Fig 1. © Natalie Frank
Fig 2. © Natalie Frank
Fig 3. © Natalie Frank
Background
Frank was born in Austin, Texas, in 1980. Her mother managed a cattle ranch and worked for Planned Parenthood. Frank’s father was a pediatrician. Her great-aunt, Hermine Tobolowsky, supported the Equal Rights Amendment. At twelve, Frank took a figure drawing class in an older woman’s garage. Her mother accompanied her because of the male model. Frank, a teenager, presented her figure drawings to her high school art teacher for evaluation. The teacher labeled her a pornographer.
At fifteen, Frank studied art at London’s Slade School, and later attended Yale University, where the artist Paula Rego mentored and befriended her. Rego inspired Frank to explore the darker side of fairy tales. After graduating from Yale, Frank worked with Nan Rosenthal at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a mentorship focused on activism developed. This experience led Frank to take part in a Fulbright program in Oslo, studying Edvard Munch before earning a master’s degree from Columbia University. Frank collaborated with Jack Zipes on an illustrated edition of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tales. She also illustrated a book of Grimm's fairy tales, “Tales of the Brothers Grimm,” which features her artwork.
Fig 4. © Natalie Frank
Fig 5. © Natalie Frank
Fig 6. © Natalie Frank
Continue reading in Premium and discover more about how the controversial novel The Story of O inspires Frank's work, the insights she gained from it, artists that influenced her visual style, an analysis of her erotic aesthetics, and more of her enticing paintings.
Click HERE for the orgiastic paintings of the British artist Cecily Brown
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