Sam Francis

American · 1923–1994 · Painter, Printmaker

Samuel Lewis Francis was an American painter and printmaker. (Wikipedia)

Email alerts for new results and upcoming sales

Own a work by Sam Francis? Get a free auction estimate →

1,413lots offered2001–2026years recorded87%sold (1,192)$4.6kSign up free to seemedian price

4 works by Sam Francis coming up at auction · bid with the house ↓

Record prices

Show prices also in

Deep Blue and BlackKornfeld · Jun 2010CHF 2,700,000≈ $2,430,297≈ £1,641,649≈ €1,964,353Sign up to see
GreenKornfeld · Sep 2021CHF 2,000,000≈ $2,155,400≈ £1,561,884≈ €1,829,711Sign up to see
Study for Moby DickKornfeld · Jun 2017CHF 730,000≈ $748,907≈ £586,504≈ €670,643Sign up to see

Sam Francis’s highest prices recorded at auction, ranked in US dollars at each sale-date exchange rate and shown in the currency of the sale (with the buyer’s premium where the house publishes it).

Coming up at auction

4 in forthcoming sales · bid with the house

Listed from the auction houses’ own websites; estimates are the houses’ own, not results.

Average price

$26.7kSign up free to see

median $4.6kfree account

High

$2.4MSign up free to see

auction record in database

Lots sold

1,192

of 1,369 offered · 2001–2026

Sell-through

87%

sold ÷ offered

Price trend

Each dot is a sold lot (price realized incl. premium where published, converted to USD at the sale-date rate; log scale). Dashed line: yearly median.

44 lot(s) offered at auction whose result the house did not publish are listed under “Also offered” on the results tab and excluded from these statistics.

1 sold lot(s) are awaiting a USD exchange rate and are excluded from averages.

By medium

Medium	Offered	Sold	Sell-through	Average	Median	High
Paintings	99	84	85%	$127kSign up	$55.9kSign up	$2.2MSign up
Oil	15	11	73%	$345kSign up	$100kSign up	$2.2MSign up
Acrylic	79	69	87%	$97.2kSign up	$50.9kSign up	$572kSign up
Mixed media	5	4	80%	$36.7kSign up	$30kSign up	$66.1kSign up
Works on paper	301	249	83%	$50.6kSign up	$26.4kSign up	$502kSign up
Watercolor	53	40	75%	$71.3kSign up	$36.1kSign up	$483kSign up
Gouache	40	35	88%	$84.1kSign up	$41.3kSign up	$502kSign up
Drawing	15	10	67%	$12kSign up	$9.3kSign up	$32.5kSign up
Prints & multiples	843	769	91%	$4.5kSign up	$2.8kSign up	$61.5kSign up
Etching	84	74	88%	$4.9kSign up	$2.9kSign up	$24.1kSign up
Aquatint	64	58	91%	$5.4kSign up	$4.6kSign up	$25.3kSign up
Lithograph	595	547	92%	$3.5kSign up	$2.4kSign up	$61.5kSign up
Screenprint	56	53	95%	$5.9kSign up	$3.8kSign up	$33kSign up
Woodcut / linocut	1	1	100%	$27.5kSign up	$27.5kSign up	$27.5kSign up
Print (other)	43	36	84%	$13.5kSign up	$9.8kSign up	$47.5kSign up
Other	126	90	71%	$57.7kSign up	$5.3kSign up	$2.4MSign up

Medium classes are derived from the medium text as published by each house; “Other” includes lots whose medium wasn’t stated.

By year

Year	Offered	Sold	Median
2026	106	95	$3.3kSign up
2025	170	155	$2.8kSign up
2024	144	126	$2kSign up
2023	109	89	$3.5kSign up
2022	151	121	$4.1kSign up
2021	140	129	$6.5kSign up
2020	60	44	$5.2kSign up
2019	79	68	$4.7kSign up
2018	62	59	$24.8kSign up
2017	79	72	$18.6kSign up
2016	54	51	$10kSign up
2015	36	27	$5.6kSign up
2014	27	27	$8.9kSign up
2013	35	23	$2.2kSign up
2012	20	16	$5.9kSign up
2011	17	17	$5.7kSign up
2010	10	10	$15.8kSign up
2009	12	12	$12.2kSign up
2008	10	8	$6.3kSign up
2007	15	14	$10.1kSign up
2006	12	12	$12.9kSign up
2005	12	8	$4.4kSign up
2004	5	5	$3.5kSign up
2003	1	1	$4kSign up
2002	2	2	$4.5kSign up
2001	1	1	$2kSign up