Red No. 2

Sam FrancisWW-1954-115560

1954·Oil on linen·195.6 × 99.1 cm (77 × 39 in.)

Sam Francis’s early work was largely informed by the Abstract Expressionists’ lyricism and strong emphasis on color harmony. Living in Paris in the 1950s, the artist came under the influence of the Impressionist painters Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne, as well as their early 20th-century successors Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse. After viewing Monet’s Nympheas at L’Orangerie in 1953, Francis transformed his palette from pale grays and muted hues to an explosive mixture of primary colors. With its juxtaposition of cadmium red and deep blue, a combination that makes the surface seem to pulsate, Red No. 2 exemplifies the vibrancy of Francis’s paintings from this era.

Catalogue

Year: 1954
Medium: Oil on linen
Dimensions: 195.6 × 99.1 cm (77 × 39 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Sam Francis

Artist

Sam Francis

Painting

Born in San Mateo, California, in 1923, Sam Francis served in the US Air Force corps during World War II, later earning degrees in psychology and botany at UC Berkeley. Moving to Paris in the 1950s, he encountered Monet’s Waterlilies, which proved lastingly influential to his art’s scale and sensitivity to light, color, and abstract art. The artist also traveled extensively – to Tokyo, Mexico City, and New York to name a few – and became familiar with non-Western philosophy. His work evolved from monochromatic abstractions to rich chromatic murals to his iconic “open” paintings: in which vividly hued splashes and drips of color are punctuated by expanses of white. These abstract expressionist paintings became synonymous with Francis’s work, as the movement came to be defined alongside him.

Paris, France and Santa Monica, USA

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