Best known for vibrant, large-scale abstractions, made by pouring turpentine-thinned paint directly onto unprimed canvas, Helen Frankenthaler consistently explored the relationship between form and materials in her art. This comparatively diminutive collage exemplifies her experimental and instinctive approach. Combining scraps of paper and a rectangle of fraying cloth, the artist soaked the added layers in oil paint and pressed, brushed and scrunched them onto a cardboard support. The energetic, handmade aspect of her process is underscored by several handprints that punctuate the surface, evident in two sets of splayed fingers that fan out across the upper third of the composition. Frankenthaler made this work in 1955, the same year she met Norton Simon in New York. Her contagious enthusiasm for contemporary art—as well as the introduction she provided to dealer Ben Heller—had a direct and long-lasting effect on Simon's early collecting.