Sam Francis

A gift from the artist to the present owner

Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; Berkeley, University of California, Sam Francis: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1967, no. 52
Basel, Kunsthalle Basel, Sam Francis, 1968, no. 86

Peter Selz, Sam Francis, New York 1982, p. 167, no. 90, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly brighter in the original. An external condition report is available from the department upon request.
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Executed in 1956, the present artwork underlines the extraordinary dexterity of Francis' treatment of colour and form. Created during a crucial period of experimentation for the artist, the splattered and rhythmic composition appears on the cusp of dissolving into formlessness, achieving a stunning balance between elegance and abstraction.  

Although Francis was not primarily concerned with gesture or the activity of painting, this important substream of abstract-expressionism is clearly evident in many of his works. Francis once claimed that his paintings "take a certain amount of violent effort" (Ad Kraan, Sam Francis, Amstelveen 1991, p.80), thus suggesting an affinity with artists such as Jackson Pollock, whose 'action' or 'Drip' paintings are often likened to Francis's.  However, like other leading exponents of Abstract Expressionism - such as Mark Rothko, Clifford Still and Barnett Newman - Francis preferred to concentrate on the meditative quality of colour and the colour-field.

This exuberant and expressive use of colour is perhaps the most striking aspect of Trace. Throughout his career, Francis experimented with the properties of paint and the possibilities of colour, once stating that: "colour is a kind of holy substance for me. It is the element of painting which I am most fascinated with" (Francis quoted in the film, Sam Francis, dir. Michael Blackwood, 1975-6). In Trace, solid puddles of colour splash in between interlaced streaks of colour, while delicate rivulets drip from pools of primary colours and merge across the picture plane in a graceful suspension of time and gravity. Yellow, red and blue dominate the composition, with sumptuous hues of purple, pink and green articulating the swathes of colour. The lava effect is recurrent, while nervous drips stripe the surface creating a "controlled chaos" of lines, splashes, dribbles and dots. There is a suggestion of an unfathomable depth within the work, further enhancing the illusionary effect of perspective. The lower portion of the painting is left with the gradual opening up of brightly painted areas into white, vacant space.

At first sight, the work seems to be underlining the intrinsic meaning of form, colour and materials and an exclusion of an immediately recognisable reference to reality. However, even with the shapelessness and the chaos, the painter continues to compose and to organise, triumphantly deploying the masterful handling of colour and abstract gesture indicative of the very best of Francis' work.