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Sam Francis Contemporary Art

American, 1923-1994

Sam Francis was an American artist known for his exuberantly colorful, large-scale abstract paintings. His practice incorporated elements from Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting, Impressionism and Eastern philosophy to create a unique style of painterly abstraction.

Influenced by Jackson Pollock and Clyfford Still, Francis is more closely associated to the work of Helen Frankenthaler, as he was more interested in the formal arrangement of the picture plane than the expressivity of the individual artist. “Painting is about the beauty of space and the power of containment,” Francis once reflected.

Born on June 25, 1923 in San Mateo, California, Francis briefly served in the US Air Force during World War II but was injured during a test flight. Returning to California, he received his BA and MA from UC Berkeley in botany and psychology before beginning to pursue a career in art. The artist traveled widely during his career, and he was closely aligned with the Art Informel movement while living abroad in Paris during the 1950s.

Francis died on November 4, 1994 in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 71. He was a founding trustee of Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and his paintings can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Kunstmuseum Basel, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, among others.

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Creator: Sam Francis
Sam Francis
By Sam Francis
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Color lithograph on Rives BFK, 1975 37 x27 inches,full margins, Signed and numbered 10/30 in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by The Litho Shop Inc. ,Santa Monica,with...
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1970s Vintage Sam Francis Contemporary Art

Materials

Paper

Untitled, 1981, Sam Francis Monotype
By Sam Francis
Located in Newport Beach, CA
Untitled, 1981, unique embossed monotype print on handmade paper. Created at the Institute of Experimental Printmaking by lauded American artist, Sam Francis (1923-1994). The Sam Fra...
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1980s American Vintage Sam Francis Contemporary Art

Materials

Paint, Paper

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Sam Francis contemporary art for sale on 1stDibs.

Sam Francis contemporary art are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of paper and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Sam Francis contemporary art, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider contemporary art by Robert Motherwell, Jim Dine, and Keith Haring. Prices for Sam Francis contemporary art can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $7,500 and can go as high as $78,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $42,750.

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