Artworks by Sam Francis at ArtWise on artnet

Sam Francis

(American, 1923–1994)

Sam Francis

Paintings and Drawings, 1979

Price on Request

Sam Francis

Untitled SF-341, 2004

Price on Request

Biography

Timeline

1923: Born in San Mateo, CA
1943 - 1947: Served in the United States Army Corps. He is hospitalized for extended periods from 1943 to 1947, due to a progressing illness from spinal tuberculosis, and unable to continue flying or serve as a pilot for the military
1946 - 1950: Began painting in San Francisco, CA
1949: BA, University of California, Berkeley, CA
1950 - 1958: Lived and worked in Paris, France with travels to Mexico, Japan, and Europe
1950: M.A. University of California, Berkeley, CA
1959 - 1961: Lived in Bern, Switzerland
1959: Lived in New York, NY
1961: Established permanent home in Santa Monica, CA
1968: Received honorary PhD from University of California, Berkeley, CA
1970: Established the Litho Shop to print his own lithographs in Santa Monica, CA
1973 - 1974: Lived and painted primarily in Tokyo, Japan
1975 - 1977: Began collaborating with Garner Tullis on monotypes at the Institute of Experimental Printing, San Francisco, CA
1981: Appointed Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, by the French Ministry of Culture
1984: Established Lapis Press to publish artists' books
1987 - 1989: Founded the Sam Francis Medical Research Center to support the research of infectious and environmental diseases
1993: Donated ten major paintings to The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
1994: Honoured with Distinguished Alumnus Award by the University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, which also then created the Sam Francis Scholarship, Berkeley, CA
: Died in Santa Monica, CA

Exhibitions

2013 - 2014: Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Experssionism from California Collections, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, USA (solo)
2013: Renard Collection, Fondation Beijeler, Basel, Switzerland
2012: Sam Francis: Works from the 1950s on paper and canvas, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Pasadena to Santa Barbara: A Selected History of Art in Southern California, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, USA
Sam Francis, Galerie Iris Wazzau, Davos, Switzerland
2011: Sam Francis The exploration of color, Sotheby's (S2) New York, USA (solo)
Sam Francis, Guy Pieters Gallery, Paris, France (solo)
Sam Francis: Paintings from the Catalogue Raisonné, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (solo)
Sam Francis, Galerie Iris Wazzau, Davos, Switzerland (solo)
2009: Time & Place: Los Angeles, 1958-1968, Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Sam Francis - Malerei und Grafik, Samuelis Baumgarte Galerie, Bielefeld, Germany
2008: Choices, Galerie Willy Schoots, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Action Painting, Foundation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland
Time & Place: Los Angeles, 1958-1968, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
2007: Grand Gestures: The Gordon F. Hampton Collection, University Art Museum, Long Beach, USA
Art Market Now, The Columns, Seoul, South Korea
2006: Afro & incotri e Confronti italia America, Gallerie d'Arte Moderna di Udine GAMUD, Udine, Italy
Zeitschnitt, Samuelis Baumgarte Galerie, Bielefeld, Germany
2005: Intuitive Reflection, Art Forum Ute Barth, Zurich, Switzerland
Austrian Contemporary Art and Postwar Painting, Museo de Art Contemporaneo de Monrerrey MARCO, Monterrey, Mexico
2004: Samuelis Baumgarte Galerie, Bielefeld, Germany
Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Baukunst Galerie, Cologne, Germany
2003: Special Proofs: 1963-1989, Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Beverly Hills, USA
Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Iwaki City Art, Fukushima, Japan
Oita Art Museum, Oita, Japan
Galerie Iris Wazzau, Davos, Switzerland
2002: Galerie Andreas Baumgarti, Munich, Germany
Lovers Fine Arts, Gstaad, Switzerland
Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan
Kawamura Memorial Museum, Chiba, Japan
Museum of Art, Eime, Japan
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, USA
2000: Lawrence Rubin, Greenberg, Van Doren Fine Art, New York, USA
Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Richard Gray Gallery, New York and Chicago, USA
Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan
1999 - 2001: Sam Francis: Paintings 1947-1990, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA; travelled to Menil Collection, Houston, USA; Malmo Konsthall, Malmo, Sweden; the Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; Galleria Comunale d'Art Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, Italy (solo)
1999: Retrospective: Sam Francis: Paintings 1947-1990, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA (solo)
Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA; Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, USA; Gallery Faurschou, Copenhagen, Denmark; Ikon Ltd., Los Angeles, USA; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Galerie Pascal Retelet, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Baukunst Galerie, Cologne, Germany; Pace Editions, New York, USA; Galerie Loeper, Hamburg, Germany
1998: Dorothy Blau Gallery, Bal Harbour, USA; Thomas Segal Gallery, Baltimore, USA; ACA Galerie, Munich, Germany; Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke, Belguim; Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Galleria d’Arte il Gabbiano, Rome, Italy
1997: Sam Francis: The Archetypal Image, Frederick M. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, USA; travelled to The Fundación Caja de Madrid, Spain (solo)
André Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Museo d’Arte, Mendrisio, Switzerland; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, USA; Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Galerie Pascal Retelet, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
1996: Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, USA; Sogetsu Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke, Belgium; Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, Germany; Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland
1995: The Last Paintings of Sam Francis, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA (solo)
André Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Grunwald/UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA
Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg, Germany; Les Années Parisiennes 1950-1961 at the Galerie National du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
1994: Long Fine Arts, New York, USA; Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland; Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, USA
1993: Retrospective exhibition at Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany (solo)
Galerie Pudelko, Bonn, Switzerland; Bobbie Greenfield Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA; Michele Cohen Gallery, New York, USA; Ochi Gallery, Ketchum, USA; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angels, USA; Galerie Iris Wazzau, Davos, Switzerland
1992: Galerie Daniel Papierski, Paris, France
Museum van der Togt, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1991: Retrospective at Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland (solo)
Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; James Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Angles Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Associated American Artists, New York, USA; Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA; Centre Régional d’Art Contemporain Midi-Pyrenées, France
1990: Associated American Artists, New York, USA; GalleryDelaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Heland Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden; Ogawa Art Foundation, Tokyo, Japan; Ochi Gallery, Ketchum, USA; Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland; Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, USA
1989: André Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, England; Sun Valley Center Gallery, Ketchum, USA; Linda Farris Gallery, Seattle, USA; Cantor/Lemberg Gallery, Birmingham, USA; Knoedler Gallery, London, England
1988: Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, USA; Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, USA; Galerie Seoul, South Korea
Travelling exhibition throughout Japan organized by The Museum of Modern Art, Toyama and Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1987: Knoedler Gallery, London, England; Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Santa Barbara, USA; Heland Thorden Wetterling Galleries, Stockholm, Sweden; G. Dalsheimer Gallery, Baltimore, USA; Galeria Eude, Barcelona, Spain; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Galerie Pudelko, Bonn, Germany; Lever/Meyerson Galleries, New York, USA
1986: Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Nantenshi Gallery, Toyko, Japan; Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, USA; La Mairie de Paris, Paris, France
1985: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Nantenshi Gallery, Toyko, Japan; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, USA; Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, USA; Hokin Gallery, West Palm Beach, USA
1984: André Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Santa Barbara, USA; Brooke Alexander, Inc., New York, USA; Cantor/Lemberg Gallery, Birmingham, USA; Robert Elkon Gallery, New York, USA; Thomas Babeor Gallery, La Jolla, USA; Knoedler Gallery, London, England; Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, USA; Steven Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, USA
1983: Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland; Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, USA; Foundation Maeght, Saint Paul de Vence, France; Studio Marconi, Milan, Italy; Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Art Attack Gallery, Boise, USA; John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, USA; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1982: Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, USA
1981: Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Ace Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Santa Barbara, USA; Faith and Charity in Hope Gallery, Hope, USA
1980: Riko Mizuno Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; James Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, USA; Abbaye de Senanque, Gordes, France; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
1979: Retrospective of works on paper at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA – traveled to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Manila, Korea and Japan under the US International Communications Agency
Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France; Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; Brooke Alexander, Inc., New York, USA; Art in Progress at Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Gallery of the Cultural Center of the Phillippines, Taipei, Taiwan
1978: Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, USA; Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, USA; Musee National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
1977: Art in Progress at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France
Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA
Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, USA
Galerie Kornfeld und Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland
Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, USA
1974: Minami Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Idemitsu Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
1972: Sam Francis: Retrospective, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, USA – traveled to Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas; Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, USA
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, USA
Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
André Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (solo)
1968: Centre National d'Art Contemporain, Paris, France (solo)
Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland (solo)
Minami Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (solo)
1967: Sam Francis: Retrospective, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA – traveled to University Art Museum, Berkeley, USA; San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, USA (solo)
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, USA
Snow painting performance in Naibara, Japan
1966: Sky painting performance over Tokyo Bay, Japan
1961 - 1964: Minami Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Galerie Kornfeld an Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland
Galerie Benador, Zurich, Switzerland
Documenta III, useum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
1960 - 1961: Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland (solo)
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (solo)
Esther Bear Gallery, Santa Barbara, USA
1959: Solo exhibition at Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, USA – traveled to San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, and Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA
1957 - 1958: Hyakkaten Department Store, Tokyo, Japan
Kintetsu Department Store, Osaka, Japan
The Phillips Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1957: Gimpel Fils, London, England
1956: Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, USA
Galerie Rive Droite, Paris, France
12 Americans, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
1955: Galerie Rive Droite, Paris, France
Tendances actuelles de l’Ecole de Paris III, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland
1952: Galerie du Dragon, Paris, France

Public Collections

: Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
: Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
: Tate Gallery, London, UK
: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Sam Francis

(American, 1923–1994)

Sam Francis

Sam Francis

Biography

Timeline

Exhibitions

Public Collections

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