Sam Francis

A major figure of post-war art, Sam Francis (b. 1923, San Mateo, California; d. 1994, Santa Monica, California) received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art from the University of California, Berkeley. Regarded as one of the first post-war painters to gain worldwide recognition, Francis was deeply influenced by Abstract Expressionism, especially the works of Clyfford Still and Jackson Pollock. His work draws from a wide range of sources, including New York Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting, Chinese and Japanese artistic traditions, French Impressionism, and the Bay Area art scene.

After graduating, Francis moved to Paris, where he spent the 1950s and had his first exhibition at the Galerie Nina Dausset in 1952. Over the next four decades, he traveled and studied in Tokyo, Mexico City, Paris, the South of France, Bern, New York, and California. Through his journeys, he encountered and adopted a wide array of styles, techniques, and cultural influences. During the 1950s, his painting style developed through distinct phases, starting with monochromatic abstractions, progressing into large, vibrantly colored murals, and eventually leading to his "open" paintings, which featured expansive white spaces. 

Francis returned to California in 1962, becoming increasingly influenced by the West Coast School’s interest in mysticism and Eastern thought. Between 1960 and 1963, Francis produced several series, including the Blue Balls series: biomorphic, predominantly blue compositions filled with organic shapes and drips. During the 1960s, he continued to work primarily in Los Angeles, while spending time in Tokyo. In 1965, he began a series of strongly linear paintings characterized by vast open canvases and restrained use of color.

In 1971, Francis began undergoing Jungian analysis. This led him to explore unconscious imagery and dreams in his work. His early 1970s pieces, referred to as the Fresh Air paintings, were created using rollers to lay down wet bands of paint, over which he added pools, drips, and splatters, reaffirming his deep commitment to color. By 1974, his paintings mainly featured grid-like structures formed by intersecting lines of color.

After 1980, his use of grids began to fade, giving way to a freer approach. Throughout this later period, Francis remained active as a printmaker, producing etchings, lithographs, and monotypes, many created at his own Litho Shop in Santa Monica. Distinct from many of his American contemporaries, Francis had prolonged and direct engagement with diverse art styles, such as French and Japanese art, each leaving a unique imprint on his work.