Sam Francis Online Catalogue Raisonné Project
Catalogue Entry
SFF.60 (Francis Archive SFP49-10; SFP51-9)
Black and Red
Alternate titles: Composition; Untitled; Untitled (Black and Red)
Oil on canvas
72.9 x 64.49 cm (28 11/16 x 25 3/8 in.)
Artist date designation: Dated as 1948
Inscriptions: Signed and dated, with underlined inscription on lower-half verso in blue paint: Sam Francis 1948 Berkeley
Additional notations: Also notated by an unknown inscriber on strainer verso in uppercase letters as printed text in black marker: FRANCIS
Creation location: [San Francisco Bay Area ?]
Exhibitions
Galerie D. Benador, Geneva, Sam Francis: Oeuvres de 1951 à 1960, February 23–March 17, 1962. (Exhibition catalogue: Galerie D. Benador 1962), no. 2, ill. in b/w, listed as 1951.
Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover, West Germany, Sam Francis, April 25–May 28, 1963. (Exhibition catalogue: Schmied 1963), no. 2, ill. in b/w, p. 19; checklist, p. 40.
Pavillon des Arts, Paris, L’oeuvre de Sam Francis dans les collections du Musée Idemitsu, September 18–November 16, 1986. (Exhibition catalogue: Idemitsu Museum of Arts travelling exhibition, Pavillon des Arts, Paris 1986), no. 1, ill. in color. Traveled to: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark, November 29, 1986–January 18, 1987; Yayoi Gallery, Ogawa Art Foundation, Tokyo, October 5–December 5, 1987 (Separate catalogue).
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany, Sam Francis, February 12–April 18, 1993. (Exhibition catalogue: Hultén 1993); (Exhibition catalogue: Mette 1993), ill. in color, pp. 60–61.
Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, Sam Francis: Les années parisiennes 1950–1961, December 12, 1995–February 18, 1996. (Exhibition catalogue: de Chassey et al 1995), ill. in color, pp. 70–71.
Tokuyama City Museum of Art and History, Tokuyama, Japan, Sam Francis and Sengai: From the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, April 11–June 1, 1997. (Exhibition catalogue: Idemitsu 1997), no. 1, ill. in color, pp. 16–17.
Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, Sam Francis: From the Idemitsu Collection, June 27–August 6, 2000. (Exhibition catalogue: Idemitsu Museum of Arts 2000), no. 1, ill. in color, p. 13. Traveled to: Idemitsu Museum of Arts Part I, Osaka, Japan, January 9–February 12, 2001; Idemitsu Museum of Arts Part II, Osaka, Japan, February 20–April 1, 2001.
Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan, Sam Francis: From the Idemitsu Collection, August 10–September 16, 2002. (Exhibition catalogue: Otsubo 2002), no. 1, ill. in color, p. 26. Traveled to: Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan, September 28–November 10, 2002; Museum of Art Ehime, Ehime, Japan, November 16–December 23, 2002; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, April 5–May 25, 2003; Iwaki City Art Museum, Fukushima, Japan, June 3–July 6, 2003; Oita City Art Museum, Oita, Japan, September 13–October 26, 2003.
Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, Idemitsu Sazo and the Resonance of Beauty, June 1–July 7, 2024, no. 54, ill. in color, p. 82.
Literature References
Selz, Peter et. al. Sam Francis. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1982, p. 146, ill. in color, pl. 66.
Lyotard, Jean-Francois. Sam Francis: Lesson of Darkness . . . Like the Paintings of a Blind Man. Venice, California: Lapis Press, 1993, ill. in color.
Kodansha. Contemporary Great Masters: Sam Francis. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1994, p. 10, ill. in color, pl. 4.
Agee, William C. Sam Francis: Paintings 1947–1990. Los Angeles: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1999. Exhibition catalogue (1999–2001 Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles [MOCA] and traveling), p. 17, ill. in color, fig. 8.
Burchett-Lere, Debra, ed. Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Canvas and Panel Paintings, 1946–1994. Berkeley, California: University of California Press and Sam Francis Foundation, 2011, p. 28, ill. in color; cat. no. 60, ill. in color on DVD I.
Notes
SFF.60 is on the original wooden strainer. There are a number of unidentified identification labels on verso stretcher bar and frame. The painting has been exhibited or reproduced with varying orientations.
Portions of this entry are from Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Canvas and Panel Paintings, 1946–1994. Published by the Regents of the University of California/University of California Press (2011). Reproduced with permission.
Additional images
Verso signature and inscriptions
Record last updated June 21, 2024. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Current catalogue view includes a section of unique works on paper, canvas and panel paintings, limited editions, sculpture and ephemeral pieces
of the artist's oeuvre and will beupdated continuously, sometimes out of chronological order.
Citation: Burchett-Lere, Debra, ed. "Black and Red, Dated as 1948 (SFF.60)." In Sam Francis: Online Catalogue Raisonné Project. cr.samfrancisfoundation.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=8490 (accessed on August 15, 2026). [ISBN-13: 978-1-7339663-1-3]
of the artist's oeuvre and will beupdated continuously, sometimes out of chronological order.
Citation: Burchett-Lere, Debra, ed. "Black and Red, Dated as 1948 (SFF.60)." In Sam Francis: Online Catalogue Raisonné Project. cr.samfrancisfoundation.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=8490 (accessed on August 15, 2026). [ISBN-13: 978-1-7339663-1-3]