Sam Francis

Private Collection, Tokyo
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2013

London, Knoedler Gallery, Sam Francis: Paintings, November - December 1989, illustrated on the cover

Debra Burchett-Lere, ed., Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of the Canvas and Panel Paintings 1946-1994, California, 2011, cat. no. 1611, illustrated on DVD

This work is in very good condition overall. The surface is bright, fresh and clean. There is evidence of light wear and handling toward the edges. Under Ultraviolet light inspection there is no evidence of restoration. Unframed. *Please note the auction begins at 9:30 am on November 14th.*
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.
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Adorned with whimsical and bold swirls of color, First Day encapsulates Sam Francis’s iconic process and color style. Proliferating with splatters and brilliant, circular shapes gathered into large and small fields of color, the paint joins to form a harmonious and visually animated composition of blues, yellows, reds and greens. Francis brushed, splashed, dripped and dribbled dots, chains and streaks of blood red, cobalt blue, pure pale yellow, satanic black, dark purples and forest greens over characteristically large areas of white canvas, which prove to be just as important as Francis's painterly marks, giving his viewers a sense of the infinite. Francis opens up the middle of the canvas to explore the expressive qualities of space. Contrasting shapes daubed in thin and thick paint in a whole spectrum of colors dance around the canvas, which is broken up by pulsating lines of splattered paint. Francis's varying use of paint allows for a refined transparency, achieving a delicacy and radiance that is characteristic of his instantly recognizable style.

Francis’s invasions of color evoke his art historical predecessors like Henri Matisse, whom Francis adopted as his stylistic mentor during the 1950s in Paris. Brought up near San Francisco, Francis took up painting as a form of therapy during the four years he spent half-immobilized in hospital beds from 1943-1947, recovering from severe spinal problems and subsequent tuberculosis that resulted from an emergency landing made during his pilot training for World War II. Aside from Matisse, Francis’s powerfully expressive brushstrokes in numerous splashes and drips are also reminiscent of Jackson Pollock. In contrast to Pollock's visceral, almost violent approach, Francis's treatment seems to be calmer and gentler, inviting a meditative response. Perhaps because of his deep roots in the Fauvist tradition, Francis’s use of color is imbued with meaning and power, as opposed to use purely for its own sake.