Sam Francis

  • Sam Francis, Composition in Red, c. 1960 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Sam Francis, Composition White on Blue, 1960 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Sam Francis, Untitled (SF58-247), 1958 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Sam Francis, E V, 1970-1971 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Sam Francis, Composition in Red, c. 1960
  • Overview
    View works. Sam Francis
    View works

    Born in 1923 in San Mateo, California, Sam Francis was an American abstract painter who turned to painting whilst recovering from severe injuries sustained as a fighter pilot in the Second World War. Francis later undertook a degree in painting at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1950, Francis went to Paris and enrolled at Fernand Léger's private academy. Over the next ten years, he split his time between Paris, New York, and Japan, absorbing influences from the New York School, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Clyfford Still, French Tachistes, and Zen calligraphers. His work, however, remains singular in its ability to fuse these influences with an approach to light and colour, structure and composition, which is uniquely his own. His work can be found in major international museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York; Kunstmuseum in Basel; and the Centre Pompidou in Paris 

  • Biography
    View works. Sam Francis
    View works

    Education 

    1949 B.A. University of California, Berkeley 

    1950 M.A. University of California, Berkeley 

    1968 Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley 

     

    Selected Exhibitions 

    1952 Galerie Nina Dausset, Paris, France 

             Galerie du Dragon, Paris, France 

    1955 Galerie Rive Droite, Paris, France 

    1956 Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, New York 

             Galerie Rive Droite, Paris, France 

    1957 Gimpel Fils, London 

    1959 Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, California; travels to San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington 

    1959-1961 Kunsthalle Bern; travels to Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden 

    1961-1964 Documenta III, Kassel, Germany 

                      Minami Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 

                      Galerie Kornfeld and Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland 

                      Galerie Benador, Zurich, Switzerland 

    1966 'Sky painting' performance over Tokyo Bay, Japan 

    1967 Retrospective at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; travels to University Art Museum, Berkeley; San Francisco Museum of Art 

             Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, New York 

             'Snow painting' performance in Naibara, Japan 

    1968 Centre National d'Art Contemporain, Paris, France 

             Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland 

             Minami Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 

    1969-1972 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California 

                      André Emmerich Gallery, New York, New York 

                      Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, New York 

                      Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, California 

                      Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, California 

    1972 Retrospective at Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; travels to Corcoran Gallery, Washington D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Dallas Museum of Fine Art, Dallas, Texas; Oakland Museum of Art, California 

             Stanford University Museum of Art, California

    1974 Idemitsu Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 

             Minami Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 

    1975-1977 André Emmerich Gallery, New York 

                      Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles 

                      Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France 

                      Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago 

                      Galerie Kornfeld and Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland 

                      Smith-Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, California 

    1977-1979 Louisiana Museum of Art, Humlebaek, Denmark 

                      Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France 

                      Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden 

                      Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel 

                      Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, California 

                      Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts 

    1980 L'Abbaye de Sénanque, Centre International de Création Artistique, Gordes, France; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; California James Corcoran Gallery, New York, New York 

    1981 André Emmerich Gallery, New York, New York 

             Ace Gallery, Los Angeles, California 

    1983 Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland 

             John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, California 

             Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul de Vence, France 

             Studio Marconi, Milan, Italy 

             Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 

    1985 Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France 

             Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 

             Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

    1988 Toyama Museum, Toyama, Japan; travels to The Museum of Modern Art, Seibu Takanawa, Karuizawa; The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga; Ohara Museum of Art, Murashiki; Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 

    1989 Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London 

    1990 Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

             Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh 

             Associated American Artists, New York, New York 

             Ogawa Art Foundation, Tokyo, Japan 

    1991 Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Brussels 

             James Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, California 

             Centre Regional d'Art Contemporain Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse-Labege, France 

    1992 Museum van der Togt, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

    1993 Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Venice, California 

             Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany 

             The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California 

    1994 University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley 

             Long Fine Art, New York, New York 

             Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 

             Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France 

             Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 

    1995 The Last Paintings of Sam Francis, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California 

             Hammer Museum, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 

             Kunstverein Ludwigsberg, Frankfurt, Germany 

             Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France 

    1997 Sam Francis: The Archetypal Image, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California 

             Musée d'Arte, Mendrisio, Switzerland 

    1998 Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona 

             Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam 

             Thomas Segal Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland 

             Galleria d'Arte il Gabbiano, Rome, Italy 

    1999-2001 Sam Francis: Paintings 1947-1990, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; travels to The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas; Konthall Malmö, Sweden; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; Galleria Communale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, Italy 

    2000 Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri 

             Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan 

    2001 Galerie Guy Pieters, Saint-Paul de Vence, France 

    2002-2004 Galerie Boisserée, Koln, Germany

                       Robert Sandelson, London, United Kingdom

                       Artemis Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, New York 

                       Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

                       American Contemporary Art Gallery, Munich, Germany 

    2006-2007 Kunstmuseum, Bern, Switzerland

                      Galerie Flintholm, Verster Skerninge, Denmark 

                      Robert Green Gallery, Mill Valley, California 

                      Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France 

    2008 Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Los Angeles, California 

             Galleria San Carlo, Milan, Italy 

    2009 Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom

             Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles, California 

             Samuelis Baumgarte Galerie, Bielefeld, Germany 

             L&M Arts, New York, New York 

    2010 Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland 

             Helly Nahmad Gallery, New York, New York 

             Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia 

    2011-2012 Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 

                      Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland 

                      Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

                      Jonathan Novak Contemporary, Los Angeles, California 

                      Martin Lawrence Galleries, New York, New York 

                      Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California 

    2013 Retrospective at Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, United States; travels to Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, United States

    2014 Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom 

             Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California 

             Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen, The Netherlands 

             Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California 

             Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles, California 

             Pasadena Museum of Art, Pasadena, California 

             Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke, Belgium 

    2015 Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom 

             Van de Weghe Fine Art, New York, New York 

             Tokyo Station Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 

             Centre Pompidou, Paris, France 

    2016 Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom 

             Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, North Carolina, United States 

             Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin, United States 

             Ma Galerie, Paris, France 

             Gallery Delaive, Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

             Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, United States

    2017 Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, United States 

             Sam Francis, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom

    2018 University at Buffalo Art Gallery, State University of New York 

             Musée National De L'Orangerie, Paris, France 

    2019 Some of the artists I have worked for, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom

             Prints I wish I had published, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom 

             The Haggin Museum, Stockton, California, United States

             Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida The Rose Art Museum, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States 

             Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansa City, Missouri, United States 

    2020 Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States

             David Benrimon Fine Art, New York, New York, United States

    2022 Mixed Show, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom 

    2023 Sam Francis: Distilled, Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Pasadena, California, United States 

             Sam Francis and Japan: Emptiness overflowing, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, United States

             Sam Francis, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, United Kingdom

    2024 Americans in Paris, Artists working in postwar France 1946-1962, Grey Art Museum, New York University, New York, United States. 

    Selected Collections 

    Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York 

    Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 

    Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago 

    Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland 

    Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

    Centre Pompidou - Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, France 

    Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas 

    Danubiana - Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia 

    Essl Museum, Vienna, Austria 

    Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (De Young/Palace of the Legion of Honor), San Francisco, California 

    Fondation Beyeler Museum, Basel, Switzerland 

    Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy 

    Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. 

    The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California 

    Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Japan 

    Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel 

    Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany 

    Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland 

    Kunstmuseum, Hannover, Germany 

    Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California 

    Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark 

    Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 

    Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

    Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden 

    Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris 

    Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Montréal, Québec 

    Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany 

    Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California 

    Museum of Modern Art, New York 

    Museum of Modern Art, Seoul, South Korea 

    Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, Japan 

    Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan 

    National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 

    Museum van der Togt, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

    Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California 

    Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki, Japan 

    Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

    Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington 

    Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York 

    Smithsonian Institution of American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. 

    Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany 

    Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands 

    The New Tate Gallery, London 

    University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 

    Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York 

    Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

     

    Download CV 

  • Works

  • Exhibitions

  • Art Fairs

  • Publications