Samuel Francis, said Sam Francis, was born in San Mateo (United States) in 1923.He studied Botany, then Psychology to Berkeley. Pilot of the US Air Forcesduring the Second World War, his plane crashed and his spinal column wasseriously injured.

He received a watercolor set during this long convalescence, and beganpainting what he saw (sky and clouds, impressions of light, etc.). After hisrecovering, he began studies of Art to the University of California (1948-1950).In 1950, he settled down in Paris; he stayed more than 10 years in France(Paris, South of France), until 1961.

His first personal exhibition was hold in Paris in 1952. Influenced by thecolor-field painting, Sam Francis worked with white as a background color, towhich he applied differentiating spots of color, which flowed, enclosed orliberated the virgin space. Expressing himself on all formats, the artist workedby series organic forms or mosaics ones, figures or "linen" (1965-1969).

In the second half on the 60s, Sam Francis made paintings of smokes colored,thrown in the sky by helicopters. In the 70s, the artist is interested in Jung'stheory of portraits, etc. Later, Sam Francis
played more and more with colorwith which he splashed canvases, drawings and monotypes without any care to theform (series "immediate paintings").

Sam Francis died in Santa Monica in 1994.