Untitled
Sam Francis
American, 1923–1994
1984
A woodcut monotype heightened with raw pigments and oil additions in which Sam Francis translates his exuberant, painterly gestures into a richly layered print.
A rippling blue wood‑grain ground—marked by concentric rings and horizontal striations—recedes beneath jagged, sail‑like yellow and crimson forms, energetic drips, and thin calligraphic lines, making the surface feel both oceanic and explosively kinetic.
By fusing carved print textures with the immediacy of paint, this late work shows Francis collapsing the boundary between painting and printmaking and expanding how color, gesture, and chance could be reproduced and felt.
Medium
Woodcut monotype with raw pigment and oil additions
Dimensions
composition and sheet: 42 3/16 x 46 1/8" (107.2 x 117.1cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase and John B. Turner Fund
Accession
187.1984
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
