Sam Francis in 1968
Sam Francis (San Mateo, June 25, 1923 - Santa Monica, November 4, 1994) was an American painter who began to paint really after 1950, and by Clement Greenberg therefore classified as the painters of after abstract expressionism. After an accident in military service during exercises, he had to live in a corset and was looking for a cure for years. During the many months (1944) he had to lay in the hospital he painted in bed; in his own words, he also began to paint: to heal himself. In 1947, he started painting paintings at the University of California, in Berkely.
Sam Francis felt strongly associated with European art, unlike the other American abstract expressionists, and lived in Paris from 1950 to 1957. In particular, the water lilies of Monet, and the art of Matisse and Bonnard, attracted him strongly; all three colorists. Sam Francis is also able to be typed as an abstract colorist.
Since 1950, he practiced a way of painting that he painted and sprayed the entire canvas or paper with often bright color spots or strokes. He approached color from a meditative and spiritual point of view. The white space between the splashes and stains was of great importance for him. In later years he would often visit the East, including Japan. The Jan van der Togt Museum in Amstelveen has a large and varied collection of works by him, purchased by the former Tomadofabrik owner and transferred to the museum. In Brussels, his work can be found on the ceiling of the entrance hall of the Royal Muntschouwburg. Its color richness contrasts with the black and white marble floor of Sol LeWitt from the same renovation campaign (1984-86).
wiki
