Born: June 25, 1923, San Mateo, California Died: November 4, 1994, Santa Monica, California
Samuel Francis was an American painter and printmaker. An injury sustained in a plane crash hospitalized Francis for several years, and it was while there that he began to paint. Once released from the hospital he returned to UC Berkeley to study art. Several abstract expressionists influenced Francis early in his career. He also spent the 1950's in Paris executing entirely monochromatic works, but his mature pieces are generally large oil paintings with splashed or splattered areas of bright contrasting color. Areas of white canvas are often left to show through, and in later works, paint is sometimes confined to the edges of the canvas.
Selected Collections: Art Institute of Chicago Dallas Museum of Art, Texas Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Museum of Modern Art, New York City The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
