Sam Francis (1923-1994)
Lot 112

Sam Francis (1923-1994)

Untitled

Closed27 September 2018

Price Realised

USD 37,500

More Information

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Sam Francis (1923-1994)
Untitled
gouache on cardboard
22 ¼ x 4 in. (56.5 x 10.2 cm.)
Painted in 1956-1959.

Estate of Al Held, New York, acquired directly from the artist
His sale; Wright, New York, 21 November 2006, lot 103
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Specialist note

This work is identified with the interim identification number SF59-486 in consideration for the forthcoming Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Unique Works on Paper. This information is subject to change as scholarship continues by the Sam Francis Foundation.

In 1950, Sam Francis moved to Paris, where he became entrenched in a group of dynamic artists determined to differentiate themselves from the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. This community of ex-pats included Joan Mitchell, Norman Bluhm and the hard-edged geometric artist Al Held, who acquired this intimate but classically-Francis painting directly from the artist. It remained in Held’s personal collection until his passing, in 2005, a relic from the early days of the artists’ stylistic development abroad.