Sale: 437 / Post War I, Dec. 10. 2016 in Munich Lot 830

 

830
Sam Francis
Over orange (SF58-058), 1958.
Gouache
Estimate:
€ 150,000 / $ 162,000
Sold:
€ 475,000 / $ 513,000

(incl. surcharge)
Over orange (SF58-058). 1958.
Gouache and watercolor.
Verso signed and titled. On wove paper by Whatman (with blindstamp). 101.8 x 68.5 cm (40 x 26.9 in), the full sheet.
[EL].

The work is registered at the Samuel L. Francis Foundation, Glendale/California, with the interims archive number "SF58-058" and will be included into the upcoming catalogue raisonné "Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Unique Works on Paper".

PROVENANCE: Private collection Virginia (from Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, with gallery label on rear of frame).
André Emmerich Gallery, New York (with gallery label and -stamp on rear of frame).
James Goodman Gallery, New York (as of March 1979).
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (with gallery label on rear of frame)
Private collection (acquired from aforementioned).

EXHIBITION: Paintings by Sam Francis, Phillips Gallery, Washington D.C., October - November 1958.
Group Show, André Emmerich Gallery, New York, 1978.

This work is particularly captivating for its strong and bright contrasting colors and the drippy color accents that were applied both spontaneously as well as intentionally. As a representative of a rather lyrical form of Abstract Expressionism Sam Francis' focus is less on the momentary impulse of Action-Painting and much stronger on the poetic effect of the color combinations. "Color is a pattern that becomes apparent on the spirit's membrane" (Sam Francis, in: Künstler. Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartskunst, Munich 1994, p. 2). The compositions of color stains overlay one another, at times transparent at times opaque. In some cases they are close to one another, in some cases they are far apart. The aesthetic quality of the works is of an outstanding importance allowing the observer both meditative as well as exhilarant visual sensations.



830
Sam Francis
Over orange (SF58-058), 1958.
Gouache
Estimate:
€ 150,000 / $ 162,000
Sold:
€ 475,000 / $ 513,000

(incl. surcharge)