Abridged Biography of Sam Francis

1923
Born 25 June, San Mateo, California (CA), USA.

1946-1950
Paints and studies in San Francisco area, CA after plane crash and illness hospitalizes him for years. Receives B. A. degree in 1949 and M.A. degree in 1950 from University of California, Berkeley. Marries and divorces Vera Miller.

1950-1958
Lives and works primarily in Paris, France with travels to Mexico, Japan, Europe, and USA. Marries and divorces Muriel Goodwin.

1952
First solo exhibitions at Galerie Nina Dausset and Galerie du Dragon, Paris.

1955
Solo exhibition at Galerie Rive Droite, Paris.

1956
Included in "12 Americans" show at The Museum of Modern Art, New York City (NYC). Solo exhibitions at Galerie Rive Droite, Paris; Martha Jackson Gallery, NYC. Time Magazine describes Francis as "the hottest American painter in Paris these days."

1957
Travels to Japan and paints a mural for the Sogetsu School, Tokyo, Japan. Solo exhibition at Gimpel Fils, Ltd., London, England.

1959
Rents additional studio in NYC and begins work on Chase Manhattan Bank mural. Solo exhibitions at Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA that travels to San Francisco Museum of Art, CA; Seattle Art Museum, Washington. Marries Teruko Yokoi; birth of their daughter, Kayo.

1960-1966
Lives and works in Bern, Switzerland during another period of hospitalization. Solo exhibition at Kunsthalle, Bern that travels to Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Solo exhibitions at Minami Gallery, Tokyo; Kornfeld and Klipstein, Bern; Galerie Benador, Zuerich, Switzerland. Exhibition at Documenta III, Kassel, Germany where Basel Mural panels are shown. Divorces Teruko Yokoi.

1962
After release from hospital, moves back to California, first staying in Santa Barbara and then Santa Monica. Purchases property and designs new studio at 345 West Channel Road, which becomes his permanent home base. Maintains studio in Paris until it is razed in 1983. Solo exhibition at Esther Bear Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA.

1966
Creates "sky painting" performance over Tokyo Bay. Marries Mako Idemitsu; birth of their son, Osamu.

1967
Solo shows at Pierre Matisse Gallery, NYC. Creates another performance "snow painting" in Naibara, Japan. Retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas that travels to University Art Museum, Berkeley, and San Francisco Museum of Art, CA. Santa Monica home is frequented by artist friends: Ed Moses, Billy Al Bengtson, Ken Price, Larry Bell, and Ed Ruscha.

1968
Receives honorary Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley. Solo exhibitions at museums: Centre National d' Art Contemporain, Paris; Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland; and Minami Gallery, Tokyo.

1969-1972
Creates mural for National Gallery of Art, Berlin, Germany. Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. In 1969, birth of Francis' third child, Shingo.
Solo exhibition at museum: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Martha Jackson Gallery, NYC; Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles.
Establishes The Litho Shop, Inc. to print and publish his own limited edition prints in 1972
Retrospective exhibition at Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York that travels to Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Texas; Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, CA. Solo exhibition at Stanford University Museum of Art.

1973-1974
Lives and works primarily in Tokyo studios. Solo exhibitions at Idemitsu Art Museum, Tokyo; Minami Gallery, Tokyo.

1975-1977
Solo exhibitions at Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; Kornfeld and Klipstein, Bern; Smith Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, CA.
Begins series of collaborations on monotypes with Garner Tullis.

1977-1978
Solo exhibition at Louisiana Museum of Art, Humlebaek, Denmark with portions of exhibition that travels to Centre Pompidou, Paris; Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, and Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel.

1978
Solo exhibitions at Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles; Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles.

1979
Retrospective exhibition of works on paper at Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts that travels to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Korea, Japan under the U.S. International Communication Agency. Solo exhibitions at Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Andre Emmerich Gallery, and Brooke Alexander, Inc. NYC.

1980
Solo exhibitions at museum: Abbaye de Senanque, Gordes, France; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Riko Mizuno Gallery and James Corcoran Galleries, Los Angeles; Smith Andersen Gallery, Palo, Alto. Mural commissions at Weinstock's Department Store, Sacramento, CA and General Services Administration (GSA, Washington, D.C.) for building in Anchorage, Alaska. Divorces Teruko Idemitsu. Elected to Board of Trustees at Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

1981
Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Ace Gallery, Los Angeles; Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Santa Barbara. Establishes temporary painting studio in San Leandro, CA to paint a mural for the San Francisco Museum of Art.

1982
Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago.
Over the years, his home in Santa Monica is full of artists, museum curators, architects, collectors as guests for dinner. Artists and architect friends include David Hockney, Isamu Noguchi, Claes Oldenburg, Jasper Johns, Richard Diebenkorn, Walasse Ting, Karel Appel, James Turrell, Arata Isozaki, Robert Therrien, Niki de St. Phalle, Rebecca Horn, Ed Kienholz, Bruce Conner, etc.

1983
Completion of mural for San Francisco Airport. Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Galerie Kornfeld, Bern; Smith Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto; Fondation Maeght, St. Paul, France; Studio Marconi, Milan, Italy; Colorado State University, Colorado; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo and a traveling survey of works on paper through the Art Museum Association of America. Receives prestigious "Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" from France.

1984
Forms Lapis Press to publish books. Solo shows at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Cantor/Lemberg Gallery, Michigan; Robert Elkon Gallery, NYC; Knoedler Gallery, London, among others.

1985
Solo exhibitions at Galerie Kornfeld, Bern; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago. Completion of mural for the San Francisco Museum of Art. Marries Margaret Smith in Japan (and again in the USA in 1986).

1986
Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo. Receives commission to paint ceiling mural for the Opera National, Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, Belgium. Birth of Francis' fourth child, Augustus. Purchases studio space in Palo Alto, and maintains working studios in Santa Monica.

1987
Solo exhibitions at Knoedler Gallery London; Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Santa Barbara; Heland Thorden Wetterling Galleries, Stockholm, Sweden; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Pudelko, Bonn, Germany, among others.

1988
Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Nantenshi gallery, Tokyo; Smith Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto; Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri; Galerie de Seoul, South Korea.
Major exhibition travels through Japan at Toyama Museum, Toyama; The Museum of Modern Art, Seibu Takanawa, Karuizawa; The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga; Ohara Museum of Art; Murashiki, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo.

1989
Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London; Linda Farris Gallery, Seattle; Knoedler Gallery, London, among others. Establishes additional studio in Manchester, England.

1990
Solo exhibitions at Associated American Artists, NYC; Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Heland Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm; Ogawa Art Foundation, Tokyo; Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, among others.
Purchases properties and rents studio in northern California at Pt. Reyes Station. Still maintains several working studios in Santa Monica and Venice, CA.

1991
Forty-year retrospective at Galerie Kornfeld, Bern. Solo exhibitions at Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; James Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles; Gagosian Gallery, NYC; Centre Regional d'Art Contemporain Midi-Pyrenees, Toulouse-Labege, France, among others.

1992
Galerie Daniel Papierski, Paris; Museum van der Togt, Amsterdam; Kukje Gallery, Seoul.
Publication of "The Prints of Sam Francis: A Catalogue Raisonné" by Connie Lembark, published by Hudson Hills Press.

1993
Retrospective exhibition at Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn. Solo exhibitions at Galerie Pudelko, Bonn; Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Venice, CA; Michel Cohen Gallery, NYC; Ochi Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Iris Wazzau, Davos, Switzerland; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
Major painting is commissioned for the German Parliament building, Bonn.
Donation of ten paintings to The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles.

1994
Solo exhibitions at Long Fine Art, NYC; Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam; Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Venice, CA; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Galerie Proarta, Zurich; Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo; Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago; University Art Museum, University of CA, Berkeley; Galerie Kornfeld, Bern; among others.
Daco Verlag Gunter Blase, Stuttgart, Germany publishes major monograph on monotypes. Receives the "Distinguished Alumnus Award" from University of CA, Berkeley.

Sam Francis dies on 4 November in Santa Monica, CA from complications of prostate cancer. His wife, Margaret Smith and their son, Augustus as well as children from previous marriages survive him: Kayo, Osamu, and Shingo, and three grandchildren: Tai, Aisha, Mawusi.

Francis is buried in northern California near Pt. Reyes Station.

1995
Exhibition of "The Last Paintings of Sam Francis," (painted June-August 1994) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Solo exhibitions at Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles; Grunwald/UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Kunstverein Ludwigsberg, Frankfurt, Germany; exhibition at the Jeu de Paume Museum, Paris reunites the three "Basel Mural" panels.

1996
Solo exhibitions at Smith Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto, CA; Sogetsu Art Museum, Tokyo; Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam; Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA; Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke, Belgium; Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin; Galerie Proarta, Zuerich.

1997
Solo exhibitions at Frederick M. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA that travels in expanded form to Fundacion Caja de Madrid, Spain; Andre Emmerich Gallery, NYC; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles; Museo d'Arte, Mendrisio, Switzerland; Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam; among others.

1998
Solo exhibitions at Thomas Segal Gallery, Baltimore, MD; Fundacion Miro, Barcelona, Spain; Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke, Belgium; among others.

1999
Solo exhibitions at Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles; Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, CA; Galleri Faurschou, Copenhagen, Denmark; Ikon, Santa Monica; Manny Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris; Baukunst Galerie, Cologne, Germany; among others.

1999-2001
Major retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles travels to: The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas; Konsthall Malmoe, Sweden; the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; Galleria Communale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, Italy.

2000
Solo exhibitions at Galleri GKM Siwert Bergstroem, Malmoe, Sweden; Richard Gray Gallery, NYC and Chicago, Illinois; Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam; Lawrence Rubin Greenberg Van Doren Fine Art, NYC; Galleria il Gabbiano, Rome, Italy; Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan.

2001
Solo exhibitions at Galerie Guy Pieters, Saint-Paul de Vence, France; Alan Cristea Gallery, London; Galerie Proarta, Zuerich; Brian Gross Gallery, San Francisco; Lawing Gallery, Houston; among others.

2002
Solo exhibitions at Galerie Pudelko, Bonn; Las Vegas Art Museum, Nevada; Galerie Thomas, Muenich; Galerie Boisseree, Cologne; among others.

2002-2003
Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo organizes major exhibition from their collection that travels to six museums in Japan. Solo exhibition at Galerie Iris Wazzau, Davos.

2003
Solo exhibitions at Musee d'Art et d'histoire, Freiburg, Switzerland; Ace Gallery, Beverly Hills; Artemis Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, NYC; Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, CA; Broadbent Gallery/Robert Sandelson Galleries, London; Santa Monica Community College, CA; among others.

2003-2004
Solo exhibition of monotype prototypes at Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam.

2004
Solo exhibitions at Baukunst Galerie, Cologne; Galerie Thomas, Muenich; American Contemporary Art Gallery, Muenich; Galerie Proarta, Zuerich; among others.

2004-2005
Major retrospective exhibition at Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen, The Netherlands (organized with Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam).

2005
Solo exhibitions at Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles; Kaare Berntsen, Oslo, Norway; Movimento Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy; Robert Sandelson Gallery, London; American Contemporary Art Gallery, Muenich. Documentary archives of the artist's estate acquired by the John Paul Getty Art Museum Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA.

2006
Solo exhibitions at Kunstmuseum, Bern, Switzerland; Galerie FLintholm, Verster Skerninge, Denmark; Robert Green Gallery, Mill Valley, California; Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France.

Current
Samuel L. Francis Art Museum, Inc. (Sam Francis Foundation) is documenting and researching data for the publication of the Catalogue Raisonné of canvas and works on paper from 1940s through 1990s.