Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

In Lovely Blueness No. 2

A work made of oil on linen.
© 2018 Sam Francis Foundation, California / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image actions

  • A work made of oil on linen.

Date:

1955/56

Artist:

Sam Francis
American, 1923–1994

About this artwork

In the mid 1950s, Sam Francis inaugurated a succession of monumentally scaled paintings informed by a variety of artistic sources, including Abstract Expressionism and French Impressionism. With their spontaneous brushwork and lyrical interplay of primary hues, these paintings established Francis as one of the foremost colorists of the postwar era. The artist often found inspiration in literary works and kept a notebook containing titles of books and verses. He named this and a related painting (In Lovely Blueness No. 1, 1955–57) after a poem by the German Romantic writer Friedrich Hölderlin, hoping to capture the poem’s sublime imagery and prophetic vision.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Sam Francis

Title

In Lovely Blueness No. 2

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1955–1956

Medium

Oil on linen

Inscriptions

No known inscriptions

Dimensions

Without frame: 309.9 × 365.8 cm (122 1/16 × 144 1/16 in.); 309.9 × 365.8 cm (122 × 144 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan and Flora Mayer Witkowsky purchase prize funds; through prior gifts of Wallace L. DeWolf, Albert A. Munger and the Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection; gift of Lannan Foundation

Reference Number

1997.159

Copyright

© 2018 Sam Francis Foundation, California / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share