Finding aid for the Sam Francis papers, 1916-2010 (bulk 1950-1994)
Annette Leddy
Descriptive Summary
Title: Sam Francis papers
Date (inclusive): 1916-2010 (bulk
1950-1994)
Number: 2004.M.8
Creator/Collector:
Francis, Sam,
1923-1994
Physical Description:
238.73 Linear Feet
(298 boxes, 58 flatfile folders, 3 rolls, 25 videocassettes, 9
DVDs, 15 films, 4 audio reels)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: California born artist Sam Francis was
a second generation Abstract Expressionist painter who incorporated influences of Jungian
psychology, Buddhism, and Japanese aesthetics into the urban and angst-ridden painting style
of the New York School. After living abroad in Paris and Japan, he settled in Los Angeles,
where he founded a fine art print press, the Litho Shop, a book press, Lapis Press, and
painted prolifically until his death in 1994. The papers document his exhibitions, business
ventures, friendships, five marriages, and childhood.
Language: Collection material is in
English.
Biographical/Historical Note
Sam Francis was born in 1923 in San Mateo, California. He studied botany and psychology at
the University of California, Berkeley, but dropped out before graduating to enlist in the
Army during World War II. Injured in a training flight crash in 1944, he was a convalescent
for several years, during which time he began to paint as a form of distraction. When he
recovered he returned to college, studying painting under Bay Area artists David Park and
Clifford Still.
Francis moved to Paris in the 1950s, where he had his first solo exhibition at the Galerie
Nina Dausset. Shortly thereafter, he joined Martha Jackson Gallery, and was featured in the
landmark 1956 12 Americans show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In the late 1950s
he painted a mural for the Sogetsu School in Toyko, Japan, initiating a lifelong
relationship with people and art institutions in that country. In the early 1960s he
permanently settled in Los Angeles, where he remained a prolific painter until the end of
his life. He founded a fine art printing press, the Litho Shop, in 1970, and a book
publishing business, Lapis Press, in 1984, the latter with Jan Butterfield and Jack
Stauffacher. He became a key figure in the incipient Los Angeles art scene, known for his
support of other artists, and was a founding member of the Museum of Contemporary Art. At
the same time, he had frequent exhibitions and major retrospectives at museums in Europe,
Japan and the U.S. Both famous and unusually wealthy for a California painter, he felt also
the burden of responsibility his achievement brought and was known to remark that he was
"tired" of being Sam Francis.
A second generation Abstract Expressionist, Francis brought to the New York style of
painting the influences of Jungian psychology, Buddhism and Japanese aesthetics. His work
evolved from the monochrome abstractions of the 1950s to color-splattered canvases with
large fields of white. While generally acknowledged as an important post-war painter,
critical acclaim focuses on his 1950s paintings, a series titled
Blue Balls
(created in response to a bout with renal tuberculosis) and a series painted for his fourth
wife, Mako Idemitsu.
Francis was married five times and had four children. He died in 1994 at the age of 71.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers with the following exceptions. Audio visual materials
are unavailable until reformatted. Box 193 is sealed until 2086.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Sam Francis papers, 1916-2010 (bulk 1950-1994), The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles,
accession no. 2004.M.8.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2004m8
Acquisition
Gift of the Estate of Samuel L. Francis in 2004.
Processing History
Jan Bender and Annette Leddy processed the Sam Francis papers and Annette Leddy prepared
the finding aid in 2011.
Tori Maches under the supervision of Laura Schroffel transferred digital content on March
7, 2017. Further processing is required on remaining digital content.
Digitized Material
Separated Materials
More than 300 books were transferred to the Research Library. They can be found by
searchign the library catalog for the Sam Francis source collection.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Sam Francis papers span the artist's entire life and include family and personal
material as well as correspondence with friends and art institutions around the world.
Francis' art-related businesses, the Litho Shop and Lapis Press, are well documented. There
are also numerous prints, products, and art making tools.
Series I includes correspondence with artists, curators and dealers, including Joan
Mitchell, Bruce Conner, Pontus Hulten, and Martha Jackson. There are also letters between
Francis and his parents and between Francis and each of his wives. Series II. Personal
includes family photographs of his parents and stepmother, as well as documents and
manuscripts belonging to them. There are photographs of Francis at every stage of his life,
as well as numerous photographs of his wives and four children. There is also some
audiovisual documentation of Francis' family, including a video tape by fourth wife Mako
Idemitsu, now an important video artist, of the two sons she had with Francis.
Series III. Lapis Press documents the projects, both realized and unrealized, that engaged
the press, including manuscripts for books of poetry, philosophy, biography and fiction.
Awards and reviews, business files, and a selection of unique proofs and paste-ups are
included in this series.
Series IV. Business files includes a range of projects Francis worked on that are not
included in Lapis Press files, such as printing projects for the Litho Shop, the performance
piece Single Wing Turquoise Bird, Francis' design for Swatch watches, and the Jeffrey
Perkins documentary, The Painter Sam Francis. There are financial papers and ledgers from
intermittent years. The Sam Francis Estate has added to this series posthumous material
particularly related to the Catalog Raisonnee.
Series V concerns Francis's involvement in Jungian philosophy and particularly James
Kirsch, one of whose books was published by Lapis Press. Series VII is a small collection of
Artist files, including manuscripts and films.
Series VI. Printed matter comprises a very comprehensive collection of announcements,
brochures, and posters from Francis' exhibitions, while Series VIII. Artwork includes
transparencies of etchings, paintings and lithographs, numerous exhibition installation
shots, products Francis designed, and tools he employed in his artmaking.
Arrangement
The papers are arranged in eight series:
Series I. Correspondence, 1937-2008;
Series II.
Personal, 1916-2000;
Series III.
Lapis Press, 1943-2002;
Series IV.
Business files, 1960-2008;
Series V.
Jung Institute, 1931-1997;
Series VI.
Printed matter, 1950-2010;
Series VII.
Artist files, 1960-2002;
Series VIII.
Artwork, 1955-2003;
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Artists -- California
Jungian psychology
Small presses -- California -- Los Angeles
Abstract expressionism
Genres and Forms of Material
Audiotapes
Correspondence
Prints -- 20th century
Proofs (printed matter)
Diaries
Drawings
Photographic prints -- California -- 20th century
Posters -- United States -- 20th century
Videotapes
Contributors
Conner, Bruce,
1933-2008
Idemitsu, Mako,
1940-
Mitchell, Joan,
1925-1992
Lapis
Press
Martha Jackson
Gallery
Francis, Sam,
1923-1994
Hultén, Pontus,
1924-2006
Series I.
Correspondence,
1937-2008
Physical Description:
20.43 Linear
Feet
(49 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Contains correspondence with Artists and friends, family, museums, and gallery
owners.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in five subseries.Correspondence was divided into subseries by
the Sam Francis estate, and that arrangement has been largely retained. Additional
correspondence files are in Series III. Lapis Press, and Series IV. Business files.
Series I.A.
Artists and friends,
1949-2003
Physical Description:
3.75 Linear
Feet
(9 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence with friends and colleagues, some of whom were also collectors, or
business associates, and range in content from the professional to the intimate. Files
at the end of the subseries contains correspondence pertaining to the end of Francis'
life.
Arrangement
Files have been kept as they were arranged by Sam Francis, in alphabetical order,
with certain individual artists given separate folders. The repository has called out
additional names in folders under each letter, but in no case have all correspondents
been listed.
box 1, folder 1
A,
1972-1993
Scope and Content Note
Including Karl Appel and Chuck Arnoldi.
box 1, folder 2-3
B,
1970-1996
Scope and Content Note
Including Kurt Blum, John Bennett, Robert Buck, Larry Bell, and J.B. Blunk.
box 1, folder 4
Barundun, Silvio,
1962-1991
box 1, folder 5
Correspondence
Scope and Content Note
Including William Copley, Ry Cooder, Dan Cytron, Alexandra Christoph, and Helga
and Roy Curry.
box 213, folder 2
Jane Braswell Crawford photographs,
undated
box 1, folder 6-7
Correspondence,
1969-1987
box 1, folder 8
D,
1969-1991
Scope and Content Note
Including Jay DeFeo.
box 1, folder 9
E,
1961-1986
Scope and Content Note
Including Bill Elliott.
box 2, folder 1-2
F,
1965-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including Gordon Onslow-Ford, Gilda Franz, Betty Freeman, Sidney Felsen and Bernard
Forrest.
box 2, folder 3
Francken, Ruth,
1969-1979
box 2, folder 4-5
G,
1957-1993
Scope and Content Note
Including Joe Goode and Bernard Giovagnoli.
box 3, folder 1-2
H,
1970-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including Al Held.
Hiltermann, B.H.R.,
2002-2003
box 3, folder 5
Hosiasson, Philippe,
1961-1964
box 3, folder 6
Hulten, Pontus,
1963-1997
box 4, folder 1
Correspondence
Scope and Content Note
Including Daria Iacone, and Toshi Ichiyanagi.
box 4, folder 2-3
Idemitsu, Tako,
1959-1085
box 4, folder 4
Isozaki, Arata,
1964-1993
box 5, folder 2
Jaffee, Shirley,
1964-1972
Jensen, Alfred,
1958-1964
box 5, folder 4
K,
1976-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including James Kirsch and Lilly Keller.
Kogelnik, Kiki,
1965-1987
box 5, folder 6
L,
1964-1992
Scope and Content Note
Including Jules Langsner, and Murray Lerner.
box 5, folder 7
Leslie, Alfred,
1961-1987
box 5, folder 8
M,
1956-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including Yves Michaud, Michio Matsumoto, Lee and Luchita Mullican, and Dorothy
Miller.
Mitchell, Joan,
circa 1980
box 6, folder 3
N,
1971-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including Hans Namuth and Sybille Nova.
box 6, folder 4
O,
1984-1992
Scope and Content Note
Including Sadao Ogawa.
box 213, folder 8
Jeff Perkins photographs,
undated
box 6, folder 6
R,
1980-1991
Scope and Content Note
Including Pierre Rouge, and James Rosenquist.
box 6, folder 7-8
Correspondence
Scope and Content Note
Including Janna Stern, Terry Schoenhaven, Clifford Still, Peter Selz, and Pierre
Schneider.
box 6, folder 9
Saegessar, Marguerite,
1989-1993
box 6, folder 10
Saint Phalle, Niki de
1987
box 6, folder 11
Sweeney, James Johnson,
1967-1990
box 6, folder 12
T,
1964-1993
Scope and Content Note
Including Dorothea Tanning, Michel Tapie, Shuzo Takiguchi, and Garner Tullis.
Tanaka, Atsuko,
1988-1999
box 7, folder 6
V,
1981-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including Eleonora Vallanti, and DeWain Valentine.
box 7, folder 7
Van Der Post, Laurens,
1991-1993
Von Huene, Stephan,
1981-1987
W,
1972-1994
Scope and Content Note
No Subnote Content
box 7, folder 9
Correspondence
Scope and Content Note
Including Marcia and Frederick Weisman, Elfie Weinstock, Michael Whitney, and
Larry Weiss.
box 213, folder 13
Michael Whitney photographs
box 7, folder 10
Wagner, George,
1989-1994
box 8, folder 2-4
Yoshiaki, Tono and Usami,
1953-1990
box 8, folder 7
Assorted acquaintances,
1964-1991
box 9, folder 1-4
Cards (birthday, Christmas, and assorted),
circa 1970 - circa 1994
box 9, folder 5-6
Cards from Litho Shop employees,
1980-1995
box 9, folder 7
Faxes for Sam when sick,
1993
box 196*, folder 2
Collage letter (author unidentified),
undated
flatfile 55**
Thank you card from MOCA on large piece of foam core,
1993
Series I.B.
Family,
1937-1995
Physical Description:
1.66 Linear
Feet
(4 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence between Sam Francis and his father, stepmother, siblings, daughter,
wives, and other relatives. Courtship letters from Francis to Vera Miller, who would
become his first wife, offer a portrait of the artist as a young man. Divorce papers,
income tax returns, and other official documents have been removed from these files
and are restricted until 2086.
Arrangement
Arranged in rough chronological order. Manuscripts accompanying the correspondence
have been filed with family papers in Series II. Personal.
box 10, folder 1-4
Sam Francis to Vera Miller (first wife),
1937-1978
box 196*, folder 8
Poem for Vera Miller,
undated
box 11, folder 1
Virginia Francis (stepmother),
1942-1991
box 11, folder 2-4
Duplicates of correspondence between Virginia Francis, Sam Francis
(senior), and Sam Francis,
1950-1964
box 12, folder 1
Muriel Goodwin (second wife),
1955-1995
box 12, folder 2
Teruko Yokoi (third wife),
1961-1966
box 12, folder 3-4
Masako Idemitsu (fourth wife),
1964-1993
Margaret Smith (fifth wife),
1985-1993
box 13, folder 1
Assorted relatives,
1965-1993
box 13, folder 2
George Francis (brother),
1968-1994
box 13, folder 3
Nancy Frances Moser (sister),
1973-1990
box 13, folder 4-5
Kayo Francis (daughter),
1971-1994
Series I.C.
Museums,
1960-2008
Physical Description:
9.17 Linear
Feet
(22 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence regarding museum exhibitions or acquisitions of Francis' work. The
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, with which Francis had a long relationship,
occupies several boxes. Also amply represented are the Bundestag, Bonn, and the Jeu de
Paume, Paris. Along with object lists and exhibition proposals, these files sometimes
contain installation diagrams, loan agreements, and checklists.
Arrangement
Arranged in alphabetical order by the museum name.
box 14, folder 1-7
A,
circa 1960- circa 1998
box 213, folder 16
Brooklyn Museum photographs
box 16-17
Bundestag, Bonn,
1991-1994
box 213, folder 17
Hiroshima Museum photographs
box 20, folder 1-6
Jeu de Paume, Paris,
1995-1996
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles,
1980-2001
box 35, folder 6
Photocopies of selected museum correspondence,
1956-2002
Series I.D.
Galleries,
1954-2005
Physical Description:
5.42 Linear
Feet
(13 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence with Sam Francis' various dealers around the world, and with galleries
that had reason to contact him, generally regarding sales. There are especially large
multiple files from Martha Jackson Gallery (New York), Kornfeld Gallery (Bern),
Delaive Gallery (Amsterdam), and Nanteshi Gallery (Tokyo). In addition to letters,
some of the files contain inventory lists, sales receipts, invoices, and other
documents that are also found in Series IV. Business files.
Arrangement
Arranged in alphbetical order by the name of the gallery, or by the last name of the
gallerist, depending on how the gallery is commonly known.
box 42-43
Kornfeld Gallery,
1959-2002
box 213, folder 25-32
Photographs,
circa 1960-2000
Scope and Content Note
Including images from ACE, Delaive, Gray, Kornfeld, Minami, Proarta, Samuels, and
Wirtz.
Series I.E.
Collectors,
1960-2005
Physical Description:
0.42 Linear
Feet
(1 box)
Scope and Content Note
Letters from collectors of Sam Francis' work, including Robert Chen, Joseph
Hirshhorn, Edwin Janss, and John Rouge.
Arrangement
Organized in alphabetical order by the collector's last name.
box 49, folder 25
Requests for Sam Francis' signature,
1970-1990
Series II.
Personal,
1916-2000
Physical Description:
25.72 Linear
Feet
(44 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Included are photographs, video and film of Francis and his family. There are family
papers, and a smattering of financial documentation. Of note is a video made by Mako
Idemitsu, Francis' fourth wife, now a well-known video artist. Included also are some
poetry and dream journals by Francis. Box 193 contains retricted material from 1950-1994
which will remain sealed until 2086.
Arrangement
Arranged in two subseries, one for Sam Francis and another for family and friends.
Series II.A.
Assorted,
1930-1995
Physical Description:
15.5 Linear
Feet
(19 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Included are some poetry and dream journals by Francis. Box 193 contains restricted
material from 1950-1994 which will remain sealed until 2086.
Arrangement
Arranged by media.
box 50, 204*
Writings,
1967-circa 1994
Scope and Content Note
Including dream journals, poetry, reflections, and doodles.
box 51, 281*-282*
Calendars, awards, lists, and miscellaneous,
1961-1991
box 52
Medical and financial,
1974-1994
box 267, item C2-C10
Audio cassettes,
1994-1995, undated
Scope and Content Note
Including the Remembrance Meeting at MOCA, Howard Fox's interview with Margaret
Smith Francis after Sam's death, and Sam's astrological reading.
Photographs,
1930-1994
Scope and Content Note
Photographs of Sam Francis, ranging from childhood snapshots, to views of the
artist in his studio, to posed portraits. Photographers include Meibao Nee, Peter
Friedli, Jerry Sohn, Vera Isler, Nico Delaive,Shima Bukuro, Jim Arkatov, Brian
Forrest, and Francis' fourth wife, Mako Idemitsu. Includes grammar school class
portrait from 1937 (Box 196*, f. 1)
box 53-55, 194*, 207*, 215
flatfile 58**
Portrait drawing of Sam by Walasse Ting,
undated
box 193
Restricted material,
1950-1994
Scope and Content Note
Sealed until 2086.
Series II.B.
Family and friends,
1916-2000
Physical Description:
10.22 Linear
Feet
(25 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Of note is a video made by Mako Idemitsu, Francis' fourth wife, now a well-known
video artist.
Arrangement
Arranged in rough chronological order.
box 56
Samuel Augustus Francis (father),
1937-1947
Scope and Content Note
Book manuscript about U.S. military strategy during World War II, by Sam Francis'
father.
box 57
Virginia Francis (stepmother),
1952-1991
Scope and Content Note
Including her journals, correspondence, photographs of Sam Francis Sr. in his
youth, and assorted papers.
box 58
Margaret Smith,
1989-1994
Scope and Content Note
Miscellaneous papers belonging to Francis' fifth wife, including insurance
documents, receipts, and brochures about her art exhibitions.
box 59, 196*, 213
Family,
1916-1962
Scope and Content Note
Including views of father, mother, stepmother, brother, and other close
relatives.
box 60, 214
Wives and children,
1950-2000
Scope and Content Note
Includes views of Vera Miller, Muriel Goodwin, Mako Idemitsu, Kayo Francis, Osamu
Francis, Shingo Francis, Margaret Smith, and Augustus Francis.
box 61-64, 222-228, 283*
Friends,
1952-1992
Scope and Content Note
Including Kurt and Erika Blum, Jan Butterfield, John Cage, Bruce Connor, Patricia
Faure, Nico Delaive, Martha Jackson, Shirley Jaffe, Ed Kienholz, Phillip and Paula
Kirkeby, James Kirsch, Kiki Kogelnick, Ebehard Kornfeld, Carl Meier, and Liga
Pang. Arranged in alphabetical order by the friends' last names, with a separate
sequence for studio visits, and another for group shots with Sam and unidentified
friends.
box 196
Portraits of artists,
undated
box 270, item V1
Video of Osamu and Shingo by Mako Idemitsu Francis,
1967-1971
box 274, item F3-F5
Films of wives and children,
1970s
Scope and Content Note
Including also a small Super 8 film of Osamo and Shingo, 1971, and trips to
Disneyland and Nevada.
box 272, item V19-V20
Friends,
circa 1970-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including VHS tapes of Kornfeld's birthday and Ebi's birthday.
Series III.
Lapis Press,
1943-2002, undated
Physical Description:
26.14 Linear
Feet
(48 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Material concerning Francis' book press, which published art- related literature,
psychology, and theory, a portion of which were works in translation.
Arrangement
Arranged in five subseries.
Series III.A.
Projects,
1943-2000
Physical Description:
5.84 Linear
Feet
(14 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Includes manuscripts by authors, some of which were published, along with some
correspondence related to the submissions.
Arrangement
Arranged in alphabetical order by the authors' last names.
box 65
A-B
1971-1989
Scope and Content Note
Including Alchemy, American Film Foundation, Bob Arnold, Antonin Artaud, Jan
Butterfield, Irene Borger, Bruce Boone, Silva Barandon, and Yves Bonnefoy.
box 66
B-C,
1957-1990
Scope and Content Note
Including Sinclair Beilis, Brancusi, Jacques Carrio, and Dennis Cooper.
box 67
C-D,
1973-1994
Scope and Content Note
Including Alan Chadwick, Cid Corman, and Bruce Connor.
box 68
D-F,
1961-1997
Scope and Content Note
Including Doug Davis, Les Ferris, Kathleen Fraser, and Michael Friedman.
box 69
F-G,
1981-1988
Scope and Content Note
Including James Farwell and Amy Gerstler.
box 70
G,
1985-2000
Scope and Content Note
Including Robert Gluck and Pierre Guyotat.
box 71
H-J,
1966-1988
Scope and Content Note
Including Rebecca Horn, Pontus Hulten, Robert Irwin, Ed Janss and Arata
Isozaki.
box 72
J-K,
1965-1989
Scope and Content Note
Including Rachel Jacobs, Edith Jenkins, Hayao Kawai, and Fujiyo Koyama.
box 73
L-M,
1943-1991
Scope and Content Note
C.A. Meier, Dean Metzger, and Mike Morrow.
box 74
M-S,
1959-1995
Scope and Content Note
Including Yves Michaud, Nancy Mozur, Noguchi, Ooka, Gordon Onslow-Ford, Carolee
Schneemann, Robert Shapazian.
box 75
Niki de Saint-Phalle,
1985-88
Scope and Content Note
Regarding her book about AIDS, published by Lapis Press.
box 76
S-T,
1982-2000
Scope and Content Note
Including Robert Thierron, James Turrell, Dorothea Tanning, and Michael Taylor.
box 77
Yasutaka Tsutsui,
1991-1995
Scope and Content Note
Regarding his book
The Fictives, published by Lapis Press.
box 78
W,
1989-1998
Scope and Content Note
Including Jane Wheelwright and Christopher Wool.
Series III.B.
Business,
1975-2002
Physical Description:
6.67 Linear
Feet
(16 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Assorted financial papers from the press from intermittent years.
Arrangement
Arranged in rough chronolgical order by year.
box 79-80
Memoranda and Minutes,
1986-1996
box 84-85
Ledgers,
1975, 1979, 1989, 1991
Series III.C.
Awards and Reviews,
1976-1994
Physical Description:
1.67 Linear
Feet
(4 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Material showing the acclaim that greeted many of the Lapis Press publications.
Arrangement
Arranged in chronological order by year.
Series III.D.
Selected Publications,
1983-1996, undated
Physical Description:
10.92 Linear
Feet
(11 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Includes selected Lapis publications, often in final proofs, along with the press's
first publication.
Arrangement
Arranged in chronological order.
box 101
Saturated Blue,
1994-1996
Series III.E.
Photographs and audio visual,
circa 1976- circa 1996
Physical Description:
1.04 Linear
Feet
(3 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Assorted photographs from Lapis publications and a video tape of an interview on The
Today Show about the press's AIDS book.
Arrangement
Arranged in rough chronolgical order.
box 270, item V6-V8
Video about Lapis Press AIDS book (The Today Show),
1987
Series IV.
Business files,
1960-2008, undated
Physical Description:
27.27 Linear
Feet
(60 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Files comprising virtually all projects that Francis was engaged in except for Lapis
Press Projects and exhibitions. The Samuel Francis Estate files, including financial
material and the catalog raisonnée, have been incorporated into this series.
Arrangement
Arranged in four subseries, and within each sub-series in rough chronological
order.
Series IV.A.
Projects,
1960-2004
Physical Description:
7.09 Linear
Feet
(17 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Files about projects, often of a collaborative nature, generally involving other
artists, writers, or institutions.
Arrangement
Arranged in rough chronological order.
box 108
circa 1960 - circa 1969
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Print Council of America, Tamarind Institute, and New Arts
Society.
box 109
circa 1970 - circa 1979
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Single Wing Turquoise Bird, Venezuela Bienal, Michael
Blackwood Films, Phillip Glass, and Weinstock Department Store.
box 110
Peter Seltz book project,
1974-1981
Scope and Content Note
For
Sam Francis, 1976
box 111
circa 1980 - circa 1984
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Welton Beckett, Vice President Mondale, Federal Reserve
Bank, Olympics Los Angeles, and Art for Nuclear Freeze.
box 112
Manny Silverman Gallery,
1982-2002
box 113
circa 1985 - circa 1986
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Cathedrale de Nevers, Michel Waldberg, Yves Michaud, World
Print Council, World Wilderness Council, and Daniel Papierski Print.
box 114
circa 1987 - circa 1989
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Bibliothèque Nationale,
Artforum, Art
Against Aids, and Petersburg Press.
box 115
circa 1990 - circa 1991
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Seoul Art Festival, American Indian Heritage Foundation,
Art Music Barcelona, Nick Wilder, and Musee Nichido.
box 116, 170-171
Swatch project,
1992-1997
box 117
circa 1993
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Paul La Bell, George Wagner, Vorwerk Carpets, and wine
labels.
box 118
circa 1994
Scope and Content Note
Including projects with Graphique de France, Grafiska Verkstaden, Mendocino Art
Center, Daco Verlag Monotype, and Mark Whitney.
box 119
circa 1995 - circa 1999
Scope and Content Note
Including Clos Pegase Winery, Beverly Hills Public Library, Society for the Arts in
Healthcare, Tracy Shiffman, and Jean Paul Riopelle.
box 107
Artist print projects,
1995-2002
Scope and Content Note
Litho Shop print projects with artists including Marina Abramovich, Vija Celmins,
Rebecca Horn, Anish Kapoor, Guillermo Kuitca, Ed Moses, Giuseppe Penone, Martin
Puryear, David Reed, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Robert Therrien, and Christopher
Wool.
box 120
Jeffrey Perkins video project,
2000-2004
Scope and Content Note
For his 85 minute video,
The Painter Sam Francis, 2008. Includes
transcripts of some interviews he did for the film.
box 233, folder 11-17
Slides and color prints from project files,
undated
Series IV.B.
Finances,
1966-2008
Physical Description:
5 Linear
Feet
(12 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Including assorted material to do with profits from Francis' art, including
appraisals and auction sales, along with reports from business ventures, especially
the wind farm.
Arrangement
Arranged by record type and in rough chronological order within each category.
Box 121-122, 124
Correspondence,
circa 1966-circa 2004
Scope and Content Note
Including memoranda, phone messages, emails, assorted correspondence and
administrative documents roughly arranged in chronological order.
Box 123
Estate
1997-2004
Access Information
Box 123, Folders 3 and 5, which contain medical and legal information, are
temporarily moved to Box 193. Box 193 is sealed until 2086.
box 127-128
Auction house reports,
1994-2002
box 130
Publishers and printers,
1976-2008
Wind farm business,
circa 1983-circa 1993
Series IV.C.
Catalogue Raisonnée,
circa 1960-2008
Physical Description:
9.59 Linear
Feet
(23 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
An incomplete collection of research and documents used in the preparation of
Francis' Catalogue Raisonnée.
Arrangement
Arranged in two groupings, research and documents, and within each grouping in rough
chronological order.
box 234-240, 285-298
Documents of etchings, screenprints, and lithographs,
circa 1960- circa 1999
Series IV.D.
Miscellaneous
circa 1974-2008, undated
Selected A/V material: circa 1974-2008, undated
Physical Description:
5.59 Linear
Feet
(8 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Videotapes, audiotapes, computer files, and film, some unidentified, others regarding
Francis. Unavailable for viewing or listening until reformatting is complete.
Arrangement
Materials are grouped by media type.
Miscellaneous business files,
1970-2001, undated
box 132, Folder 1
Articles of incorporation for Samuel L. Francis Foundation
undated
box 132, Folder 2
Endo Architectural Firm
1971
box 132, Folder 3
"Miscellaneous requests",
1975-1992
General
Correspondence containing various requests for Francis's money or participation
on behalf of various causes.
box 132, Folder 4
"Investment possibilities",
1981
box 132, Folder 6
AIDS research report,
1989-1990
box 132, Folder 7
Property/studio floor plan,
1991
box 132, Folder 8
Packing and crating information,
2001
Videos about Sam Francis and his art,
1974-1999
Arrangement
Videos arranged chronologically.
box 271, item V9
Nico Delaive
1990
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS). Cassette notes: "Venice studio-- Sam and Ting painting ca.
1989-90."
box 271, item V10
Nico Delaive
1990
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS). Cassette notes: "The Freddie" tape. "Bonn Parliament under
construction-- August swimming-- dancing -- brief interview of Sam Francis."
box 271, item V11
Nico Delaive
1990
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS). Cassette notes: "Palo Alto. Framing discussion."
box 271, item V12
Nico Delaive
1990
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS). Cassette notes: "Exhibition in Amsterdam April 1990 c/o
Galerie Delaive."
box 271, item V13
Nico Delaive
1990
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS). Cassette notes: "Touring Pt. Reyes Ranch. First 10:00 min.
only."
box 271, item V18
Sam Francis New Prints, Long Fine Art New
York, January 5-February 26.
1994
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS).
box 271, item V15
Jeu de Paume, December 1995
1995
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS).
box 271, item V16
Sam Francis: A Quick Look. Art/World
Productions.
1999
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS).
box 271, item V2, V4
Michael Blackwood Productions, Inc.
undated
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (PAL). Run time 53:00.
box 271, item V3
Michael Blackwood Productions, Inc.
undated
Scope and Content Note
1 videocassette (VHS). Run time 52:40.
box 272, item V21
The Litho Shop. Sam Francis.
undated
Scope and Content Note
"Ashland Studio by Mark Whitney." 16mm pos. transfer, RT 2:30.
box 273, item V26
Unidentified Umatic videotape,
undated
box 272, item V25
Video catalog of the Ohara museum of art,
undated
box 271 , item V14
Video documentary on Jean-Paul Riopelle,
undated
box 269, item DVD1-DVD6
DVDs about Sam Francis and his art,
1999-2008
box 274, item F1, F2
Films about Sam Francis and his art,
1977, undated
box 274, item F6-F15
Unidentified Super 8 films,
undated
box 268, item R1, R3
Unidentified audio recordings,
undated
box 275, item CM82
Lithograph shop digital files
Scope and Content Note
1 computer disc (CD-R) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
Series V.
Jung Institute,
1929-1997, undated
Physical Description:
3.34 Linear
Feet
(8 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Material about Jungian philosophy and the Jung Institute, in which Francis was active
for much of his adult life.
Arrangement
Assorted materials are arranged in chronological order, and articles are arranged in
alphabetical order by the author's last name.
box 135-136
Assorted materials,
1973-1987
Scope and Content Note
Including correspondence, fliers, membership rosters, journals and proposals.
box 138, folder 1-4
Articles by Hilde Kirsch,
1972-1975
box 138-140
Articles by James Kirsch,
1931-1986
box 196*, folder 6
Photographic portrait of James Kirsch,
undated
box 141
Articles, Kirst-Z,
1943-1988
box 272, item V17, V22-V24
Documentaries about Jung,
1983-1997
Series VI.
Printed matter,
1950-2010
Physical Description:
39.22 Linear
Feet
(23 boxes, 3 flat file drawers, 3
rolls)
Scope and Content Note
This series offers a comprehensive collection of announcements, brochures, and posters
about Francis' exhibitions, and also a selection of articles about his work.
Arrangement
Arranged in two subseries, and within those, in chronological order.
Series VI.A.
Articles and reviews,
1951-2000
Physical Description:
2.92 Linear
Feet
(7 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
A comprehensive collection of reviews of Francis' art exhibitions.
Arrangement
Arranged in chronological order.
Series VI.B.
Announcements and brochures,
1950-2003, undated
Physical Description:
36.3 Linear
Feet
(16 boxes, 3 flat file drawers, 3
rolls)
Scope and Content Note
A comprehensive collection of announcements and brochures for Francis' solo and group
shows.
Arrangement
Arranged in chronological order.
Large binders prepared by estate,
1950-2010
Group shows,
1952-2003, undated
box 162
Photocopies of brochures,
circa 1970-circa 1994
box 163-164
Miscellaneous printed matter,
circa 1970-circa 1994
flatfile 5**-20**
Posters for museum and gallery exhibitions,
1961-2002
flatfile 54**
Poster for Jeffrey Perkins film,
199?
roll 1**
Banner for Chicago Art Expo,
1989
Series VII.
Artist files,
circa 1960-2002, undated
Physical Description:
13.87 Linear
Feet
(7 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Works, including photographs, posters, and drawings, by artists whom Francis knew.
Arrangement
Arranged in alphabetical order by the artist's last name.
box 268, item R2
Ron Cooper recording,
1977
box 267, item C1
Yukio Mishima reading,
1989
box 269, item DVD8
Salut, Riopelle! (DVD),
2002
item DVD9
Martin Sosin,
A celebration of the first
amendment
,
2008
box 210*-211*
Assorted artwork,
1961-1981, undated
Scope and Content Note
Including works by Kurt blum, Walasse Ting, Meibao Nee, Heinz Baumuller, Irving
Grupp, Arthur Leslie, and Hisashi Otto. See also a poster of Jose Bueno's
Water in flat file 52**.
box 196*, folder 4, 7
Photographs by unidentified artists,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Including one of the trees at Pontus Hultén's residence.
box 241
Color prints, negatives and transparencies by assorted artists,
circa 1960 - circa 2000
Scope and Content Note
Including Vija Celmins, Pontus Hultén, Takako Idemitsu, Martin Puryear, Ed Ruscha,
Niki de St. Phalle, and Sadamas Motonaga.
Series VIII.
Artwork,
1955-2003,
undated
Digital images of artwork (digital version available on-site only): 1997
Physical Description:
82.74 Linear
Feet
(57 boxes, 4 flat file drawers, 4 triple
oversize objects
Scope and Content Note
Includes assorted artwork by Sam Francis, including prints, transparencies of
paintings, etchings and lithographs, and exhibition installation shots. There are also
various products Francis made, including scarves, ornaments, and puzzles, along with
tools he used, such as brushes and printing plates.
Arrangement
Arranged in four subseries and in chronological order within each topical group when
dates are known.
Series VIII.A.
Works on paper,
circa 1960-circa 1994
Physical Description:
40.58 Linear
Feet
(11 boxes, 4 flat file drawers, 2 triple
oversize objects)
Scope and Content Note
Including ink drawings, watercolors, and prints.
Arrangement
Objects of like sizes and media are grouped together.
box 169, 182, 186, 191, 208*
Prints and proofs,
undated
box 183, 205*-206*
Watercolors and drawings,
undated
flatfile 2**
Large black ink drawings,
undated
flatfile 53**
Brush and ink drawings done with wife Muriel Goodwin,
undated
flatfile 56**
Large drawing of a face,
undated
box 203*
Pasadena box collophon,
1963
box 278***
Painting on board,
undated
flatfile 21**-52**
Proofs of prints,
1960-1994, undated
box 279***
Works on paper (5),
undated
Series VIII.B.
Photographs of artwork and exhibitions,
circa 1955-2003
Physical Description:
10.29 Linear
Feet
(27 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Assorted photography of Francis' work, and a selection of exhibition installation
shots.
Arrangement
Arranged in rough chronological order.
box 241-242, 250-253
Transparencies of paintings, etchings and lithographs,
circa 1955-circa 1965
box 244
Special projects,
1960-1984
box 245
Book project with Pontus Hultén,
1960-1987
box 246
California Box Project,
1963-1964
box 284*
Color photographs of prints,
undated
box 247, 254-246, 261
Exhibition and studio installations,
1957-1974
box 261
Pasadena Art Museum,
1964
box 255
Studio, Santa Monica,
1966
box 261
Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York,
1969
box 261
Art Institute of Chicago,
1970
box 261
The Zurich Gallery,
1970-1971
box 261
Andred Emmerich Gallery, New York,
1971
box 261
Stanford University Art Gallery, Palo Alto,
1972
box 261
Albright-Knox, Buffalo, New York,
1972
box 255
Studio, Santa Monica,
1972-1973
box 261
Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris,
1973
box 261
Andre Emmerich, New York,
1973
box 261
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles,
1973
box 247
36 KAOs (Faces), Tokyo,
1973-1977
box 261
Minami Gallery, Tokyo,
1974
box 261
Louisiana Museum, Denmark,
1974
box 275, item CM1-CM81
Digital images of artwork
1997
Digital images of artwork (digital version available on-site only): 1997
Scope and Content Note
73 computer discs (floppy disk) : 3 1/2 in. 3 computer discs (zip disk) : 3 1/2 in.
5 computer discs (CD-R) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
box 248-249, 257-266, 195*
Exhibition and studio installations,
1975-2003
Series VIII.C
Products,
undated
Physical Description:
12.12 Linear
Feet
(12 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Including products bearing Francis artwork.
Arrangement
Grouped according to like size and media.
box 174
Ornament buttons,
undated
box 179
Pins and puzzles,
undated
box 180
Wine labels, and logo,
undated
Series VIII.D
Art materials,
undated
Physical Description:
19.75 Linear
Feet
(7 boxes, 2 triple oversize
objects)
Scope and Content Note
Including printing plates, brushes, and other tools.
Arrangement
Grouped according to like size and media.
box 188-189
Limited edition plates,
undated
box 190
Paintbrushes and clogs,
undated
flatfile 1**
Metal printing plates,
undated
flatfile 3**-4**
Notes on lithographs in progress,
undated
box 277 A*** and B***
Transfer plates and test prints(4),
undated
