Sam Francis

Sam Francis was born in San Mateo, California and at one time was considered by TIME magazine to be the “hottest American painter in Paris.” Studying medicine at University of California, Berkley Francis enrolled in the U.S. Army Air corps in 1943, but because of a spinal injury, sent most of his military life confined to a hospital bed. David Park, a painting teacher at the School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Instituted), would continuously bring Sam paintings from a local private collection, fueling Sams inner creativity. In 1948 Francis, earned his Master of Arts degree in Berkley and quickly after moved to Paris where he had his fist one man show in 1952 and his first museum show in 1955. His love for color can be traced back to his profound appreciation of Monet, Bonnard, and Mattise. Francis decided to create large, luminous abstractions in 1958 and truly found his niche.