Very First Stone

Prints and Drawings

1959–68

Sam Francis (American, 1923-1994)
printed by Robert Blackburn and Fred Genis
published Universal Limited Art Editions (American, founded 1955)

Francis drew his first lithographs for Tatyana Grosman in 1959, while he was living in a New York studio rented from Larry Rivers, the first artist invited to work at U.L.A.E. After the stones were drawn, they were taken to the workshop on Long Island for proofing. Francis, matching Grosman’s slow deliberation was in no hurry to release the prints, and they had not arrived at a solution when Francis left New York early in 1960. Subsequently, Francis made his first released lithographs at Emil Matthieu’s workshop in Zurich. Their success made him a committed printmaker.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Sam Francis
Title: Very First Stone
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.: 1959–1968
Medium: Lithograph on white wove paper
Dimensions: 80 × 57.5 cm (31 1/2 × 22 11/16 in.)
Credit Line: U.L.A.E. Collection acquired through a challenge grant of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dittmer; purchased with funds provided by supporters of the Department of Prints and Drawings; Centennial Endowment; Margaret Fisher Endowment Fund
Reference Number: 1982.250
Copyright: © 2018 Sam Francis Foundation, California / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Field 1

Universal Limited Art Editions 1 Artist’s proof

Lembark 96

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