Sam FrancisAmerican, 1923–1994In Lovely Blueness No. 2
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “In Lovely Blueness No. 2” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked October 12, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
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.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1997.159
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Sam Francis
The whole life1950–1961 · Workplace
Paris
1955
Married: Muriel Goodwin
1956
Big Red at MoMA
Francis’s Big Red is included in MoMA’s Twelve Artists exhibition.
