A Great Review of Sam Francis "Five Decades" at the Crocker

In a recent editorial for Visual Art Source, critic Richard Speer offers a perceptive reflection on Sam Francis, and how his career was affected by being an artist who primarily worked outside New York.  

Here is how the piece begins: 

Sam Francis, New York and Outsiders Looking In

Sam Francis, "Mantis," ca. 1960-61, oil on canvas, 52 x 78". 

© Sam Francis Foundation, California/Artists Rights Society, New York 

"It behooves artists to be at the right place at the right time, ensconced with the right curators, critics, gallerists, and collectors.Those who miss their era's dominant milieu are apt to be ignored or demonized in life and perpetuity. This cold fact was underlined for me recently when I visited "Sam Francis:Five Decades of Abstract Expressionism from California Collections" at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. The show originated last August at the Pasadena Museum of California Art, then traveled to the Crocker, where it closes April 20. And while co-curators Debra Burchett-Lere and Peter Selz have invigoratingly showcased Francis' gifts for brilliant color and evocative negative space, they have also had to acknowledge that the painter was never well-regarded in New York critical circles."

To read the complete article, click here...