Sam Francis biography

Samuel Lewis Francis, born in San Mateo, California, on June 25, 1923, stands out as one of the most influential American painters. Initially, he pursued studies in botany, medicine, and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. His military career in the United States Air Force during World War II was interrupted due to an accident, which led him to rediscover his passion for art at Berkeley, under the guidance of Clifford Still.
Francis's painting is distinguished by its freedom of structures with impressionistic traces. It then evolves within the realm of abstract expressionism and American action painting, influenced by artists like Mark Rothko, Arshile Gorky, and especially Jackson Pollock. Despite these influences, Sam Francis never fully fits into any art school, forging a unique and global path.
In 1943, Sam Francis becomes a pilot in the military air force. After a plane crash, he spends a long period in the hospital, where he begins painting as a form of therapy. He then studies painting at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and in 1947 he creates his first abstract painting. He earns a master's degree in letters in art history at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1950, he moved to Paris, where he held his first solo exhibition at the Galerie du Dragon in 1952. His style was influenced by informal art and Abstract Expressionism. In 1955, he exhibited for the first time in a museum, and in 1957 he made an influential trip to New York, Mexico, and Japan, integrating Eastern artistic practices into his paintings. He participated in Documenta II and the Biennale di San Paolo in 1959.
Sam Francis marries five times, creating a strong familial and artistic bond. He initially joins Vera Miller, then the Californian painter Muriel Goodwin, followed by the Japanese painter Teruko Yokoi, with whom he has a daughter, Kayo. He then marries Mako Idemitsu, with whom he has two sons, Osamu and Shingo, and finally Margaret Smith, with whom he has a son, Augustus.
In 1961, a serious illness forced him to a long period of convalescence. In 1963, he created a new series of color lithographs. He is also known for sculpture and printmaking. He founded Lapis Press in 1984, specializing in visual arts and philosophy.
His art evolves through various phases, from monochromatic abstractions to colorful murals and "open" paintings. The series "Blue Balls", created between 1960 and 1963, reflects the physical and psychological pain he experienced. He returns to California in the '60s and continues to paint, mainly in Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Sam Francis faces prostate cancer in the last years of his life, but continues to paint with energy, using his left hand after a fall. He completes about 150 small paintings before dying on November 4, 1994, in Santa Monica, California.
Sam Francis significantly contributed to the international recognition of post-war American painting. His works are displayed in prestigious international museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Centre Pompidou-Musee National d'Art Moderne in Paris. Sam Francis is remembered as a global pioneer, an artist who charted a unique trajectory in the 20th-century art scene.