His artistic career began in the hospital. A young medical and psychology student, Sam Francis served as a soldier in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. In a plane crash, he suffered severe spinal injuries that forced him to spend several years in the hospital. During this time, Francis discovered painting for himself and made it his purpose in life. From 1948 to 1950, he studied art history and fine arts at the University of California at Berkeley, then lived in Paris for several years. His works quickly attracted attention; Francis was one of the first Abstract Expressionists with an international reputation. He was considered the »hottest American in Paris«. His wild style, seemingly marked by spontaneity, made him a major exponent of Tachism. Francis lived a life as wild as his paintings: He maintained studios in Bern, Paris, Tokyo, and New York around 1960 and was married a total of five times. In the 1960s, the California native moved back to his home state and expanded his repertoire to include lithographs and etchings.
Sam Francis received numerous awards and participated in world-renowned exhibitions. These include, for example, the São Paulo Biennale (1959), the Venice Biennale (1964), documenta II (1959) and documenta III (1964). He co-founded the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in 1976, one of the most important institutions for contemporary art in the United States. In addition, the painter, dedicated to the peaceful struggle against the Vietnam War, was the founder of the Sam Francis Medical Research Center in 1987. It researches connections between environmental damage and resulting illnesses. Francis, who died in 1994, would have turned 100 today, June 25.
