Artist Keywords

Sam Lewis Francis

Sam Lewis Francis (1923 - 1994) was active/lived in California / Japan, France.  Sam Francis is known for Splatter-stain imagery painting, graphics.

© 2001 Estate of Sam Francis / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

An Abstract Expressionist* painter known for his brilliant coloration and splotch-like shapes, Sam Francis became one of the big-name modernist artists of the second half of the 20th century.  He was much influenced by Clyfford Styll and Mark Rothko.  Unlike the creations of many of the Abstract Expressionists and the Bay Area Figurative* painters, his work was light and airy and increasingly decorative.  Seeking his own approach to abstraction*, he spent much of his career out of the United States, especially in France.

Of his painting, Sam Francis said that he wanted to make "something that fills utterly the sight and can't be used to make life only bearable". (Herskovic 130)

Sam Francis was born in San Mateo, California, and attended the University of California at Berkeley from 1941 to 1943.  He studied psychology and pre-med and then went into the Army Air Corps where he was in an air crash that led to spinal tuberculosis.  Reco   ...  [Displaying 1000 of 28206 characters.]  Artist bio

Artist auction records

.  askART's database currently holds 4196 auction lots for Sam Lewis Francis (of which 3191 auction records sold and 13 are upcoming at auction.)

Artist artworks for sale and wanted

.  There are 3 artworks for sale on our website by galleries and art dealers . There are 15 galleries and art dealers listing works of art by Sam Lewis Francis as either "Wanted" or "For Sale" .

Research resources

.  askART lists Sam Lewis Francis in 2 of its research Essays. Sam Lewis Francis has 26 artist signature examples available in our database.

Similar artists

.  There are 24 similar (related) artists for Sam Lewis Francis available:    Jim Dine,  Helen Frankenthaler,  Robert Burns Motherwell,  Frank Stella,  Tom Wesselmann,  Roy Lichtenstein,  Robert Rauschenberg,  Sol LeWitt,  David Hockney,  Paul Jenkins,  Alexander (Sandy) Calder,  Willem de Kooning,  Andy Warhol,  Keith Haring,  Robert E Indiana,  Wayne Thiebaud,  Karel Christiaan Appel,  Alex Katz,  Richard Diebenkorn,  Josef Albers,  Ed Ruscha,  Hans Hofmann,  Adolph Gottlieb,  James Rosenquist