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Sam Francis (American, 1923–1994)
LOT ID: 60302
Untitled (Sketch), 1966

Watercolor, Acrylic
13 х 22 in. cm.
Signed, dated on the verso, artist's label inscribed "SF66-048."
Lot description
This bright and energetic painting is a prime example of the work that Francis produced in the 1960’s, after his later travels to Japan. There he was moved by the art and philosophy of Zen Buddhism and became inspired by the power of empty space. Back in California, he combined what he had learned with the tenets Abstract Expressionism a series of paintings which featured a central void of unpainted matrix. He focused on untouched areas, allowing them to be defined by the bold color and movement surrounding them. Untitled (Sketch) epitomizes this stylistic period in Francis’s career and is an important piece of his oeuvre.


Sam Francis (1923-1994) was an American abstract expressionist painter and lithographer, known for his exuberant use of color. Born in San Mateo, he studied art at the University of California, Berkeley after serving in the air force during WWII. His first works were influenced by the abstract expressionism of Rothko, Gorky, and Still, but he quickly developed his own colorful abstract style after moving to Paris in 1950. Francis lived in Europe for several years, where he became associated with the French expressionist 'Taschisme' movement, and consequently achieved fame abroad before in his home county. His Parisian output shifted from monochromes executed with wiggling, biomorphic brush strokes to his 'Blue Ball' series, which features large, amorphous circles of blue paint. Inspired by the art and philosophy he encountered during his later travels to Japan, Francis became fascinated with empty space and created many paintings with a central white void of unpainted canvas or untouched areas outlining rectangles or other shapes. The artist also executed a series of large murals, mainly in watercolor, which he worked on intermittently from the late 1950s until his death in Santa Monica in 1994.
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  • Sam Francis

    Ohne Titel
    acrylic and gouache on paper
    (H 14.5, W 10.4) in.
    (36.8 x 26.3) cm.
    Sold for: US$19,241
    Saturday, December 10, 2011
    Ketterer Kunst München
    Lot 00357
  • Sam Francis

    From Tokyo #3
    acrylic and watercolor on paper
    (H 41.1, W 27.6) in.
    (104.5 x 70) cm.
    Sold for: US$45,723
    Saturday, December 10, 2011
    Ketterer Kunst München
    Lot 00359
  • Sam Francis

    SF67-016
    acrylic on paper
    (H 43.5, W 31.1) in.
    (110.4 x 79) cm.
    Sold for: US$34,853
    Saturday, December 03, 2011
    Farsetti Arte
    Lot 00674
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