The American painter Sam Francis (1923-1994) is known for his large-scale works, which are classified as Abstract Expressionism. The artist found his way to art in his mid-20s, after studying psychology and medicine, spending a few year in the army and then studying art history at Berkeley University. He repeatedly spent longer periods of study in Paris, New York, Bern and Tokyo. Travels and encounters with other artists formed and inspired his art. In Paris he came in touch with the Informalism movement, in Tokyo with Asian art, and in New York with Abstract Expressionism.
He created his first lithographs in New York in 1959, his first etchings followed 14 years later. Francis had a great interest in prints, he founded ‘The Litho Shop’ in 1970, his own print studio. A few years later followed ‘The Lapis Press’, a publishing house for illustrated books, where he could combine his love for visual art and the written word.
Francis developed his graphics with the same intuition and playful use of lines, colors and rhythms that applies to his paintings. Our current selection of prints illustrates this diversity of expression and virtuosic use of color, both characteristics that run through the whole of his artistic work.