Sam Francis

(American, 1923-1994)

Composition (Painting 1953), c. 1953

watercolor on paper

30 5/8 x 22 3/4 inches.

Provenance:

Gimpel Fils, London

The Collection of Allan Sirotto, 1958

Leon Mnuchin, New York

Sold: Parke-Bernet Galleries, February 27, 1963, Lot 11

Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, 1974

Robert Elkon Gallery, New York

Galerie Matignon, Paris

Sold: Sotheby's, November 29, 1995, Lot 21

Private Collection

Sold: Versailles Enchères Perrin-Royère-Lajeunesse, June 29, 1997, Lot 71

Galerie Charles Zalber, Paris

Exhibited:

London, England, Gimpel Fils Gallery, Ltd., Sam Francis: Oil Paintings and Watercolours, May 16 - June 8, 1957, no. 6

London, England, Gimpel Fils Gallery, Ltd., Summer Exhibition, July - August, 1957, no. 17

New York, New York, Martha Jackson Gallery, Sam Francis, June 4 - 29, 1963

Paris, France, La Délégation À L'action Artistique De la Ville de Paris, Paris, 1945 - 1956: Peintres de l'abstraction lyrique à Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, June 5 - July 6, 1980, no. 35, pp. 20, illus.

Anjou, France, Collégiale St. Pierre la Cour, Presence de l'Art Contemporain en Anjou, 1989

Le Mans, France, Collégiale St. Pierre la Cour, Abstraction lyrique, 1989

Literature:

Debra Burchett-Lere (ed.), Sam Francis Online Catalogue Raisonné Project, included as number C, illus.

Lot note:

Widely regarded as a master of color and light, Sam Francis was a prolific painter and printmaker. Though associated with Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting, Francis did not confine himself to any movement; traveling widely, he preferred to employ a variety of techniques - particularly drawn from his prolonged and profound exposure to French and Japanese art - to develop as a truly global artist.

Francis served in the US Air Force during World War II, until a diagnosis of Spinal Tuberculosis caused him to be hospitalized for several years. During this time, he was visited by David Park, artist and pioneer of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, who inspired him to begin painting and privately tutored him. Once released from the hospital, he received both his undergraduate and master's degrees in Art from the University of California, Berkley, where he also studied botany, medicine, and psychology.

After his schooling, he spent most of the 1950s in Paris, with the opening of his first exhibition in 1952 at the Galerie Nina Dausset. While there, Francis became transfixed by the paintings of Claude Monet, and their influence can be seen in the consideration of light and color throughout his work.

At this early stage in his career, Francis could only afford a few tubes of paint as he established himself in Paris: white, cadmium red, cobalt blue, and yellow. In Composition (Painting 1953), lines of these same colors intersect and overlap with frenetic energy, giving the illusion of motion within the image and a certain luminosity to the sheet. The Sam Francis Foundation details in their catalogue raisonné a reference to this work found in the Martha Jackson Gallery, New York archives (stockbook no. 7786). As noted by the Martha Jackson Gallery, “This is probably a sketch for the best early Francis painting. Prince Troubetzkoy”, in which they reference the painting owned by Prince Igor Troubetzkoy, an early collector of Francis' works in Paris. Prince Troubetzkoy was a French aristocrat and athlete of Russian descent, who became a high-profile patron of the arts. (Debra Burchett-Lere (ed.), Sam Francis Online Catalogue Raisonné Project, included as number SFF5.182, illus.)

This sketch reflects a unique moment in Francis’ exploration of color and movement and his development as a professional artist working to attract important patrons in postwar Paris.

Composition (Painting 1953), c. 1953