(1923-1994) is one of the most distinctive and collected 20th-century abstract artists. 

After serving in the Air Force in WW II, Francis returned to his native California immersing himself in art making. By the end of the 1940s, he was devoted to painting which led him to learn, exhibit, and travel internationally. His formative years were spent in Paris having moved there at the end of 1950. 

In 1953 one of his canvases was included in the MoMA's seminal exhibition "Twelve Artists" which quickly led to his international reputation. 

Francis is stylistically associated with the second generation of abstract expressionist painters. Although American, he was not tethered to New York City, instead spending the 1950s working/exhibiting globally including Paris, Mexico City, and Switzerland. As a result, he is somewhat independent of the collectives and "isms" normally used to describe post-war abstraction.

His inimitable style is consistently present in Francis' body of work; a combination of splatter and vaguely biomorphic forms executed in saturated primary colors.

This untitled work from the final chapter of the artist's career stands as a powerful testament to his vibrant aesthetic. The composition is divided into two vertical planes, separated by channels of eggplant and saffron that divide the center of the work.

Francis' signature use of negative space emerges from sweeps of cerulean blue, jade, lemon, and cherry that fill either side of the work, imbuing the composition with an incredible sense of depth and wonder.  

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"Untitled" SF-343 (aka. Lemon/Plum)

USA, 1990

Lithograph on Waterleaf wove paper

Signed by the artist, lower left

From an edition of 50

46"H 30"W (work)

Framed

Very good condition