color and the sensitivity to light, Francis developed his own style that made him a signature American artist.
A California native, Francis was born in San Mateo in 1923 and died in Santa Monica in 1994. He began to paint in 1944 and studied art first under David Park in 1947 and then at the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Over the years, Francis worked for long periods of time in studios in Paris, New York and Tokyo while traveling back and forth to his primary residences in Santa Monica, Palo Alto and Point Reyes.
His works are in many public and private collections throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Idemitsu Museum of Art in Tokyo.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 24, 2005. Read the original PDF.