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Sam Francis — Untitled (Middle Blue)
Sam Francis

Untitled (Middle Blue)

1957

This abstract composition showcases the artist's characteristic gestural approach to color and form. Vibrant passages of blue dominate the composition, punctuated by bright yellows, greens, and touches of red that create dynamic tension across the paper's surface. Spontaneous brushstrokes and dripped applications of gouache, watercolor, and acrylic build layers of transparent and opaque color, emphasizing the material qualities of the media. The work exemplifies mid century abstract expressionism's emphasis on immediate, intuitive mark making and the expressive potential of color relationships.

Medium
gouache, watercolor and acrylic on paper
Overall

Notes

Contemporary Day Auction, Sotheby's, sale on 2026-05-15.

🔨 Auction Lot

Contemporary Day Auction

May 15, 2026

Estimate: $500,000$700,000

For Sale

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About this work

Sam Francis, Untitled (Middle Blue), 1957

This abstract composition showcases the artist's characteristic gestural approach to color and form. Vibrant passages of blue dominate the composition, punctuated by bright yellows, greens, and touches of red that create dynamic tension across the paper's surface. Spontaneous brushstrokes and dripped applications of gouache, watercolor, and acrylic build layers of transparent and opaque color, emphasizing the material qualities of the media. The work exemplifies mid century abstract expressionism's emphasis on immediate, intuitive mark making and the expressive potential of color relationships.

Medium
gouache, watercolor and acrylic on paper
Dimensions
overall: 67.6 x 101.6 cm
Year
1957
Seen at
Sotheby's, New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris

Related themes

Expressionist Brushwork, Chromatic Composition, Modernist Abstract, Mid Century Modern, Lyrical Abstraction, Modernist Aesthetics, Post War Art, Color Relationships, Watercolor And Gouache, Contemporary Auction, Abstract Expressionism, Gestural Abstraction, Paint And Paper, Paper Works, Artistic Process, Drip Technique, Blue Dominant Palette, Spontaneous Mark Making, Color Field Painting, Visual Rhythm

More works by Sam Francis

Collected by

Jim Arnone, Alex Capecelatro, Sebastián In Situ, Hamilton Selway Gallery