Sam Francis

Sam Francis (1923–1994) was a leading figure of postwar American painting whose work bridged Abstract Expressionism and a new luminous sensibility. Known for his expansive compositions and vibrant use of color, his paintings often emphasize light, openness, and fluid forms. After studying painting in California, he moved to Paris in 1950, where he became part of the international community of artists working in the city. During this period, Francis moved within the same expatriate circles as Ellsworth Kelly, Joan Mitchell, and Norman Bluhm.

He had a very close personal friendship with Joan Mitchell. Riopelle proudly called him a best friend and Mitchell had met him in 1955 but, although seduced into a brief love affair, did not extend her admiration to his paintings for another decade. Besides this relationship, Mitchell participated in Francis’s project 1 Cent Life (1964), a large-scale project bringing together 28 European and American artists who conceived more than 60 original lithographs to accompany 62 letterpress poems by Walasse Ting, to which Mitchell contributed one lithograph.