In Lovely Blueness No. 2

Sam Francis, an American painter and printmaker, created "In Lovely Blueness No. 2" in 1955. This monumental oil on linen painting, measuring over ten feet tall and twelve feet wide, exemplifies his early engagement with Abstract Expressionism, a movement he was loosely associated with. Francis spent the 1950s in Paris, where he had his first exhibition in 1952 and became linked with Tachisme, a European equivalent to Abstract Expressionism. His work from this period, including this piece, shows the influence of artists like Jackson Pollock, particularly in its loose, expressive style. Francis never quite fit neatly into any single art school, charting his own course as one of the first truly global artists. His early paintings evolved from monochromatic abstractions to richly colored murals and the 'open' paintings that would become a hallmark of his style, featuring large areas of untouched canvas. This particular work, with its title emphasizing 'blueness,' hints at the artist's deep exploration of color, a consistent theme throughout his career. It also predates his more explicit 'Blue Balls' series from the early 1960s, which directly referenced his struggles with renal tuberculosis.