Samuel Lewis Francis (June 25, 1923 – November 4, 1994) was an American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

Early life

Sam Francis was born in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster ...

,Samuel L. Francis Foundation Foundation website: About the Artist page
. Samfrancisfoundation.com. Retrieved on April 5, 2014. the son of Katherine Lewis Francis and Samuel Augustus Francis Sr. The death of his mother in 1935, who had encouraged his interest in music affected him deeply, but he later developed a strong bond with his stepmother, Virginia Peterson Francis. He attended San Mateo High School in the early 1940s. Francis served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

during World War II. In 1944, while in the Air Corps he was diagnosed with Spinal Tuberculosis. He was in the hospital for several years, and it was while there, after being visited by artist David Park in 1945, that he began to paint. Once out of the hospital he returned to Berkeley, this time to study art. He received both his BA degree (1949) and MA degree (1950) in Art from the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied botany, medicine, and psychology.

Career and artistic development

Francis was initially influenced by the work of

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...

s such as

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

Arshile Gorky Arshile Gorky (; born Vostanik Manoug Adoian, hy, Ոստանիկ Մանուկ Ատոյեան; April 15, 1904 – July 21, 1948) was an Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. He spent the last years of hi ...

and Clyfford Still. His loose style was most influenced by the work of Jackson Pollock. He later became loosely associated with the second generation of abstract expressionists, including

Joan Mitchell Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was an American artist who worked primarily in painting and printmaking, and also used pastel and made other works on paper. She was an active participant in the New York School of artis ...

and

Helen Frankenthaler Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...

, who were increasingly interested in the expressive use of color. But Francis never fit neatly into any school of art. He charted his own trajectory as one of the first global artists working around the world. He spent the 1950s in Paris, having his first exhibition there at the Galerie Nina Dausset in 1952. While in Paris he became associated with

Tachisme __NOTOC__ Tachisme (alternative spelling: Tachism, derived from the French word ''tache'', stain) is a French style of abstract painting popular in the 1940s and 1950s. The term is said to have been first used with regards to the movement in 19 ...

, and had his work championed by art critics Michel Tapié and Claude Duthuit ( the son-in-law of the painter

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prim ...

). Between 1950 and 1958 Francis spent time and painted in Paris, the south of France, Tokyo, Mexico City, Bern and New York. His artistic development was affected by his exposure to French modern painting, Asian culture and

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

in particular. His paintings of the 1950s evolved through a series of stages, beginning with monochromatic abstractions, followed by larger richly colored murals and "open" paintings that feature large areas of whiteness. After his 1953 painting "Big Red" was included in the 1956 exhibition "Twelve Artists" at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Francis began a rapid rise to international prominence. Francis painted large murals for the Kunsthalle, Basel in 1956-8 and for the Chase Manhattan Bank, New York in 1959. Between 1960 and 1963 he created several series of works, including the "Blue Balls" series. Consisting of biomorphic predominantly blue forms and drips, these works referenced the pain that resulted from the renal tuberculosis that he suffered in 1961. In the early to mid 1960s Francis was represented by the

Martha Jackson Gallery Martha Jackson (; January 17, 1907 – July 4, 1969) was an American art dealer, gallery owner, and collector. Her New York City based Martha Jackson Gallery, founded in 1953, was groundbreaking in its representation of women and internatio ...

in New York City. He returned to California during the 1960s and continued painting, mainly in Los Angeles, but also in Tokyo where he lived primarily in 1973-4. In 1965 Francis started a series of paintings that featured large areas of open canvas, minimal color and strong line. His work evolved further after he began intensive Jungian analysis with Dr. James Kirsch in 1971 and began paying careful attention to his dreams and the unconscious images they suggested. Francis' works of the early 1970s have been referred to as Fresh Air pictures. Created by adding pools, drips and splatters of color to wet bands of paint applied with a roller, these works re-asserted the artist's interest in color. By 1973–4 many of Francis' paintings featured a formal grid or matrix made up of crossing tracks of color. Many of these matrix works were large in scale, measuring up to twenty feet long. After 1980 the formal structure of the grid gradually disappeared from Francis' work. He was extremely active as a printmaker, creating numerous etchings, lithographs and monotypes, many of which were executed in Santa Monica at the Litho Shop, which Francis owned. In 1984 Francis founded The Lapis Press with the goal of producing unusual and timely texts in visually compelling formats. During the last year of his life, suffering from prostate cancer and unable to paint with his right hand after a fall, in a final burst of energy he used his left hand to complete a dazzling series of about 150 small paintings before he died. He died in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

and was buried in Olema, in Marin County, California.

Personal life

Sam Francis was married five times, and was the father of four children. He was married from 1947 through 1952 to Vera Miller, a high school girlfriend, then to California painter Muriel Goodwin (1955–58) then to Japanese painter Teruko Yokoi with whom he had a daughter, Kayo. In 1966 he married Mako Idemitsu, with whom he had two sons: Osamu and Shingo. He married his last wife, painter Margaret Smith, in a

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

ceremony in Japan in 1985. Their son Augustus, born in 1986, is also an artist.

International reputation

Because he worked and exhibited in the United States, Europe and Asia, Sam Francis is credited with helping secure international recognition for postwar American painting. His work has been seen most often and best understood in Europe and Japan. In 1991, he was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the ...

as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1994.

International collections

Paintings by Sam Francis can be found in international museum collections including those of

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The orton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California The Kunstmuseum Basel, the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou-Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris.

Legacy

Auction records

On May 11, 2010, a Francis 1957 painting titled "Middle Blue" was sold at auction for $6,354,500, a record for the artist. On May 15, 2013, "Symphony in Blue," a 1958 watercolor and gouache on paper set the record for a Sam Francis work on paper, selling at Sotheby's for $1,145,000.00. On May 11, 2016 "Summer #1" a 1957 Francis oil on canvas painting sold for $11,842,000. a new world record for the artist. This painting was acquired by the collector Eli Broad, and will be prominently displayed in his new museum in Los Angeles. On November 9, 2022, "Composition in black and blue" a 1955 Sam Francis oil on canvas sold for $13,557,500. at the Paul Allen sale at Christies, New York

Foundation

In the wake of the artist's death, the Sam Francis Foundation was founded. Its stated mission is to "research, document, protect and perpetuate the creative legacy of the artist" and "promote awareness of and knowledge about the art of Sam Francis to the public through education and information." The United States copyright representative for the Francis Foundation is the Artists Rights Society. The Foundation published, in collaboration with the

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...

, a

Catalogue Raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...

of Francis' Canvas and Panel Paintings, 1946 – 1994. The catalogue consists of both a printed book and 2 DVDs which document 1,855 Francis paintings. There are also photos, writings by and about Francis, and films of Francis at work. Foundation Director Debra Burchett-Lere is currently working on a second volume which will feature all of the artist's known unique works on paper. The Foundation has a page dedicated to locating any "missing works" and is requesting information from any parties who can assist in their location.

Documentary

In 2010, artist and filmmaker Jeffrey Perkins released the documentary "The Painter Sam Francis". The documentary includes film of Francis at work, filmed between 1968 and the early '90s together with interviews with friends, family, and professional associates of Francis.

Tribute song

* Sam Francis:''Sam Francis'' (1985) song by Lopez Beatles

Solo exhibitions, 1952–1994

During his lifetime the work of Sam Francis was featured in 113 solo exhibitions in museums and galleries. Since his death in 1994 he has been the subject of over 90 solo exhibitions.Samuel L. Francis Foundation Foundation website: Chronology page
. Samfrancisfoundation.com (June 25, 1923). Retrieved on April 5, 2014.

Writings

* ''Aphorisms'', Lapis, Santa Monica 1984

References

External links

*
The Sam Francis Foundation website

Sam Francis in the National Gallery of Australia's Kenneth Tyler Collection

Francis' page at the Tate Gallery
(includes a brief biography and images of his work)
Gallery Delaive – Official representative of the Sam Francis estate for Europe

Sam Francis Biography and Images: Hollis Taggart Galleries

Artists Rights Society, U.S. Copyright Representatives for Sam Francis
* Sam Francis papers, 1920–2000, bulk 1950–1994. Getty Research Institute. Los Angeles, California.
www.samfrancis.com, works, photo's, biography and exhibition overview

Sam Francis: From Dusk Until Dawn - Heather James Fine Art exhibition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Sam 20th-century American painters American male painters Abstract expressionist artists Abstract painters American abstract artists American Expressionist painters American contemporary painters Art Informel and Tachisme painters Painters from California 1923 births 1994 deaths Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from prostate cancer People from Marin County, California People from San Mateo, California People from Santa Monica, California 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American male artists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters