SAM FRANCIS | Untitled

André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above in January 1989)
Acquired from the above by the present owner 

New York, André Emmerich Gallery, Sam Francis: New Paintings, February 1989, illustrated in color on the cover

Yves Michaud and Marcelin Pleynet, Sam Francis, Paris 1992, p. 209, illustrated in color
Debra Burchett-Lere, Ed., Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Canvas and Panel Paintings, 1946-1994, Berkeley 2011, cat. no. SFF.1552, illustrated in color on the DVD

Overall this work is in very good condition. There is minor evidence of wear and handling to the edges. Under extremely close inspection and raking light, minor craquelure is visible in the dark blue area above the left yellow orb. The colors are bright, fresh and clean. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, there is no evidence 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 the work from later 1988 through 1992, Francis still used high-keyed color at an intense emotional pitch...These skeins of paint cannot fail to call to mind the poured paintings of Jackson Pollock, an artist for whom Francis always had the utmost respect; they are another form of the dripping he had used so successfully in the early fifties. Taken together with the suggestion of early Clyfford Still in the 1988 paintings, it is as if Francis had somehow sought to come full circle. In effect, he recalled two of the artists whose work had first exemplified the possibilities of a language of free and open abstraction. At the same time he demonstrated just how far that language had been extended."
William C. Agee, "Sam Francis: Color, Structure and the Modern Tradition" in Exh. Cat., Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sam Francis: Paintings 1947-1990, 1999, p. 47

This work is identified with the identification number of SFF.1552 in consideration for the
forthcoming addendum to the Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Canvas and Panel
Paintings. This information is subject to change as scholarship continues by the Sam Francis Foundation.