Sam Francis

3 piece(s) in the gallery

Sam Francis, an American born painter and print maker, began his studies at the University of California Berkeley where he studied Botany, Medicine, and psychology. He served in World War II where he was injured in a plane crash. It was during his convalescence that he began to paint. Upon his discharge from the hospital he returned to Berkeley to study art. He was influenced by Rothko and Gorky, among others, and spent the 1950's in Paris, France where he had his first exhibition in 1952. He returned to the United States in the 1960's where he continued to paint. During his later years he was diagnosed with cancer and his right hand was rendered useless by a fall. Despite these setbacks, Francis, in an astounding display of renewed energy, created 150 small paintings with his left hand before he died.

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