Reefs 1955

Sam Francis made "Reefs," an abstract painting, using acrylic and ink on canvas. Francis was a member of the second generation of Abstract Expressionists in the United States. As the American economy boomed after World War II, so did the art market. Works such as this reflect a desire to break free from the traditional art establishment. The heroic scale and emphasis on pure color reflect a turn to the sensory and decorative. It is a rejection of social realism and politically engaged art. As a historian, I would consult gallery records and the artist's biography to understand better his place in the cultural history of the postwar period. We can read this painting as a document of a particular social and economic moment in the United States.