Sam Francis Auction Prices and Value Guide

Sam Francis auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 8,409 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Sam Francis auction prices: quick answer

Sam Francis auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Sam Francis
Source records
8,409
Market update
2026-02-06

Sam Francis market snapshot

Sam Francis shows very deep auction liquidity with 2,378 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $5,750. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 303 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2026-01-26.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (10.8% · 167 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (46.6% · 721 sales)
  • $10,000+ (42.6% · 659 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$2,800
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
303
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2026-01-26

Artist context

About Sam Francis

Sam Francis (1923–1994), born Samuel Lewis Francis, was an American painter and printmaker recognized as one of the major figures of post-war abstract art. Emerging from the Abstract Expressionist milieu, Francis developed a distinctive visual language centered on luminous color fields, expanses of white ground, and gestural pools of pigment. He spent formative years in Paris during the 1950s, where his work absorbed influences from French Informel painting, Zen philosophy, and the later water lilies of Claude Monet. Over a career spanning five decades, he maintained studios in Paris, New York, Bern, Tokyo, and Los Angeles, producing paintings, watercolors, lithographs, and monotypes held by institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, the Centre Pompidou, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His explorations of color, light, and spatial openness bridge Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting, placing him among the most internationally exhibited American artists of his generation.

Abstract ExpressionismColor Field paintingLyrical Abstractionoil paintingwatercolorlithographscreenprintabstract color fieldsnon-representational compositions

Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most frequently encounter Sam Francis works in the following forms: large-scale abstract oil paintings on canvas characterized by vivid color pools and white ground; watercolors and gouaches on paper; lithographs produced with master printers including those from the Tamarind Lithography Workshop and Mourlot; screenprints in signed and numbered editions; etchings and monotypes. His subjects are non-representational — compositions of floating color forms, edge-to-edge fields, and atmospheric washes. Editioned prints range from small folio sizes to large-format sheets, often bearing his characteristic balance of saturated pigment against open white space.

Market and appraisal context

Sam Francis is one of the most liquid post-war American artists in the secondary market, with 2,397 catalogued lots and 1,560 priced records spanning from June 1999 to April 2026. The price distribution is extremely wide — from $5 at the low end to $6,780,000 at the high — reflecting the deep divide between editioned prints and unique paintings. The 25th percentile sits at $2,000, the median at $5,500, and the 75th percentile at $35,000, indicating that most market activity occurs in the mid-range print and work-on-paper segment. Recent 12-month volume of 202 lots is down from 347 in the prior 12-month period, a 42% decline that may reflect market softening, cataloguing lag, or cyclical factors. Top auction houses include Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Artcurial, Piasa, Millon & Associes, and Galerie Kornfeld, with regular representation at regional houses such as Los Angeles Modern Auctions, John Moran Auctioneers, and Van Ham. Recent comparable lots show lithographs and screenprints trading between $190 and $3,300, mid-scale works reaching $6,500–$27,500, and a composition at Galerie Kornfeld realizing CHF 50,000. The breadth of houses and geographic spread (US, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada) confirm sustained international demand across price tiers.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Post-War & Contemporary Art
  • Prints & Multiples
  • Contemporary Prints

Value drivers

  1. Medium: unique oil and acrylic paintings trade at substantially higher levels than lithographs, screenprints, and etchings; the $6.78M record is for a major painting, while prints cluster below $10,000
  2. Scale: large-format canvases command premiums; small folio-size prints and multiples trade near the 25th percentile ($2,000 and below)
  3. Period: 1950s Paris-period works and early 1960s Blue Ball series paintings carry the strongest collector and institutional demand
  4. Edition status: signed and numbered prints should be identified by catalogue raisonné number (e.g., SF-, SFE-, SFFUSP- prefixes); edition size and impression number affect value within the print segment
  5. Condition: Francis's characteristic exposed white ground and unmixed color fields make foxing, fading, toning, and handling creases especially impactful on appraisal value
  6. Provenance: documented gallery or estate provenance, exhibition labels, and catalogue raisonné inclusion strengthen both value and buyer confidence

Appraisal caveats

  • With over 8,400 auction records catalogued, Sam Francis is among the most traded post-war American artists. Volume and edition size vary widely, so comparable-sale analysis should consider medium, dimensions, date, edition number, and condition rather than relying on artist-level averages alone.
  • Prints and multiples account for a significant portion of market activity; signed limited-edition lithographs trade at substantially different price levels than unique paintings.
  • Attribution and dating should reference the Sam Francis catalogue raisonné project when available.
  • The decline in auction volume (from 346 to 188 lots over successive 12-month windows) could reflect market softening, cataloguing delays, or seasonal variation; it should not be interpreted as a direct price indicator without further analysis.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Sam Francis

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Sam Francis worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Sam Francis artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.