Composition No. 3
Artist
Sam Francis
(American, 1923 - 1994)
Date1959
MediumWatercolor and ink on paper
DimensionsUnframed: 17 × 20 inches (43.18 × 50.8 cm)
Framed: 30 × 36 7/8 inches (76.2 × 93.66 cm)
Framed: 30 × 36 7/8 inches (76.2 × 93.66 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Friends of Art Memorial Fund
Object numberF59-68
Signedverso, center, in blue ink: "#3 (59) Sam Francis"
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionCenter, vertical foliate form with triangular blue and black, left, red, purple, and yellow, right; white paper, left and right, scored by intermittent random polychrome trails.Gallery LabelThough he worked both on paper and canvas, Sam Francis’s new ideas most often emerged in his watercolors. Around the time he made Composition No. 3, Francis became preoccupied by the balance of density and openness in his paintings. This fascination is revealed here through a vertical spine of color framed by unpainted white paper. A gifted colorist, Francis punctuated his composition with drips, splatters and dry brushstrokes. His colorful shapes became more clearly defined in the late 1950s. This shift was due to the influence on Francis’s painting of French artist Henri Matisse’s work with cut paper.
Copyright© Sam Francis Foundation, California / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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