Sam Francis

1923 Born San Mateo, California, United States

1942–43 Studies at University of California, Berkeley with a major in botany

1943–45 Serves in US Army Air Corps; begins to paint in hospital after a plane crash leaves him with spinal injuries

1946 Included in exhibition, Annual exhibition, at San Francisco Museum of Art, California

1948 Included in exhibition, Annual exhibition, at San Francisco Museum of Art

1949 Receives Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Berkeley; included in exhibition, Annual exhibition, at San Francisco Museum of Art

1950 Receives Masters of Arts from University of California, Berkeley; moves to Paris, France; briefly attends Académie Fernand Léger

1952 First solo exhibition, at Galerie Nina Dausset, Paris; included in exhibition, Signifiants de l'informel, at Studio Paul Faccetti, Paris

1953 Included in exhibitions: Un arte autre, at Studio Paul Facchetti, Paris; Opposing forces, at Institute of Contemporary Art, London, England

1955 Included in exhibition, Tendances actuelles, at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland

1956 Included in exhibition, 12 Americans, at Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York; solo exhibition at Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

1957 Extensive travels abroad including the United States, Japan, Mexico, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Italy; completes a mural for the Sogetsu School of Flower Arranging, Tokyo, Japan

1958 Completes Basel mural for Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland; included in exhibition, 50 ans d'art moderne, at Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium

1959 Moves to New York; travelling solo exhibition originating at Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, California; completes mural for Chase Manhattan Bank, New York; included in exhibition, Documenta 2, at Kassel, West Germany; included in Biennial of São-Paulo, Brazil

1960–61 Travels to Japan and Switzerland; solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle, Bern and Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden

1962 Moves to Los Angeles, California; maintains studios in Bern, New York, Paris and Tokyo; wins Grand Prize, Third biennale exhibition of prints in Tokyo

1963 Completes six-month residency at Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles

1964 Included in exhibition, Documenta 3, Kassel, West Germany

1966 Completes edition of Untitled at Gemini GEL, Los Angeles; solo exhibition, Sam Francis werke 1962–1966, at Galerie Kornfeld und Klipstein, Bern; included in exhibition, Art of the United States 1670–1966, at Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Two decades of American painting, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

1967 Retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

1968 Solo exhibition at Centre National d'Art Contemporain, Paris

1970 Solo exhibition at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; receives commission for Nationalgalerie, Berlin; establishes The Litho Shop, Los Angeles

1971 Completes residency at Gemini GEL, Los Angeles making editions Spleen (red), Spleen (yellow), Cut throat, Cut throat state I, Yunan, Yunan state I-IV, Speck, White bone; included in Biennial exhibition at Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1972 Travelling retrospective exhibition organised by the Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York; completes editions of Turn, Red again, Ting, Web, Of vega, Lyre eight, Spun for James Kirsch, Freshet at Gemini GEL, Los Angeles

1973–74 Completes editions of Coral lyre nine, Five coral screen, Ariel's ring, Toward disappearance, Burnout, Firewood at Gemini GEL, Los Angeles; moves to Tokyo

1976 Completes editions of Always in and out of need; Straight line of the sun, Pointing to the future, Point and Deft and sudden gain at Gemini GEL, Los Angeles

1977 Included in travelling exhibition, Art in progress, at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark

1978 Solo exhibition, Sam Francis: peintures récentes 1976–1978, at Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, Paris

1979 Travelling retrospective exhibition originating at Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

1980 Elected to Board of Trustees of Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; solo exhibition at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California

1983 Appointed Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; solo exhibition at Fondation Maeght, St Paul-de-Vence, France

1984 Co-founder of Lapis Press, Los Angeles

1986 Completes commission for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California; solo exhibition, L'oeuvre de Sam Francis dans les collections du Musée Idemitsu, at Pavillon des Arts, Paris

1987 Solo exhibition at Nantenshi Gallery, Tokyo

1988 Travelling exhibition, Sam Francis, originating at Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan

1991 Solo exhibition, Sam Francis Ausstellung: eine retrospective 40 years of friendship 1945–1990, at Galerie Kornfeld, Bern

1992 Solo exhibitions: organised by Museum van der Togt, Amstelveen, the Netherlands; Sam Francis, at Centre Régional d'Art Contemporain Midi-Pyrenées, Toulouse-Labége, France

1993 Solo exhibition, Sam Francis, at Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany

1994 Retrospective exhibition at University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley

1995 Sam Francis died in Los Angeles, California

Barbara Delano © Tyler Graphics Ltd; revised Kate Buckingham, 2006