- 215
Sam Francis
Estimate
400,000 - 600,000 USD
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Description
- Sam Francis
- Untitled
- signed and dated 1974 on the reverse
- acrylic on canvas
- 65 7/8 by 108 in. 167.3 by 274.3 cm.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in February 1980
Exhibited
Pasadena Museum of California Art; Sacramento, Crocker Art Museum, Sam Francis: Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism from California Collections, August 2013 - April 2014, cat. no. 72, figs. 46 and 47, p. 115
Literature
Exh. Cat., Stockholm, Liljevalchs Konstall, Sam Francis, Malningar 1976-78, 1978, illustrated
Exh. Cat., Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Sam Francis: Peintures Récentes 1976-1978, 1978, illustrated
Exh. Cat., Amstelveen, Museum Jan van der Togt, Sam Francis: Remembering 1923-1994, 2004, p. 70, illustrated
Debra Burchett-Lere, Ed., Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Canvas and Panel Paintings 1946-1994, Berkeley 2011, cat. no. 655, illustrated in color on the DVD
Exh. Cat., Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Sam Francis: Peintures Récentes 1976-1978, 1978, illustrated
Exh. Cat., Amstelveen, Museum Jan van der Togt, Sam Francis: Remembering 1923-1994, 2004, p. 70, illustrated
Debra Burchett-Lere, Ed., Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Canvas and Panel Paintings 1946-1994, Berkeley 2011, cat. no. 655, illustrated in color on the DVD
Condition
This work is in very good condition overall. There is very light evidence of handling along the edges. The colors are bright, fresh and clean. There are scattered drying bubbles visible throughout the composition, inherent to the artist’s working method. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, a light fluorescence is visible along the bottom edge towards the right above the purple-painted area, but does not appear to be the result of restoration. Unframed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
"Francis's distinctive way of building a picture with an accretion of rhythmic touches, at once deliberate and loose, seems equally indebted to the legacy of Abstract Expressionism, the slashing 'automatic' gestures of Riopelle and his colleagues, and the most spontaneous, inspired Japanese brushwork, with an admixture of reverent homage to the planar strokes of Paul Cézanne's late watercolors."
Carl Belz in Karen Wilkin, Ed., Color as Field: American Painting, 1950-1975, New Haven 2007, p. 66