SAM FRANCIS FOUNDATION

What SAM FRANCIS FOUNDATION does

The Sam Francis Foundation is a California-based non-profit organization established after the death of postwar American gestural abstraction artist Sam Francis (1923–1994) to preserve and promote his artistic legacy. It serves as the authoritative body for authentication, scholarly documentation, and intellectual property administration of Francis's body of work, serving art historians, researchers, museums, galleries, private collectors, and publishers of works referencing Francis's art.

The foundation's core product is a subscription-based Online Catalogue Raisonné Project, built on panOpticon database software and hosted at cr.samfrancisfoundation.org. The platform offers a free BASIC tier providing thumbnail images, catalogue numbers, and public collection listings, and a paid EXPANDED tier at $100/year offering full provenance, exhibition history, literature references, archival materials, and advanced search. The platform documents unique works on canvas, paper, monotypes, limited editions, ceramics, and mixed media, with daily research updates. The foundation also maintains the Sam Francis Papers and Archive — housed jointly at the Getty Research Institute and the foundation itself — including over 150 compiled oral history interviews spanning contacts from the 1940s through 1994, distributed via YouTube through Plain Sight Archive.

The foundation's revenue model is multifaceted: recurring subscription revenue from the catalogue raisonné, one-time publication sales (e.g., the upcoming bilingual compendium 'Sam Francis and Yves Michaud in Dialogue' at $45 USD / €39 EUR, co-published with DoPe Press in July 2026), grants and benefactor contributions from a network of galleries (Gallery Delaive, Galerie Kornfeld, Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art) and foundations (The Broad Foundation, University of California Press Foundation, individual donors including Doris Fisher and Sotheby's), and licensing royalties managed through the Artists Rights Society. The foundation holds copyright to Francis's images, artworks, and writings, and operates as a 6-person organization out of Glendale, CA, with a Board of Directors and Advisory Council drawn from the Francis family and art-world professionals.

Name

SAM FRANCIS FOUNDATION

Legal name

Sam Francis Foundation

Website

https://samfrancisfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Sam Francis Foundation is a Glendale, CA-based non-profit that preserves and authorizes the artistic legacy of postwar American gestural abstraction artist Sam Francis (1923–1994), serving art historians, researchers, collectors, galleries, and publishers through a subscription-based online catalogue raisonné, archival holdings, oral history project, scholarly publications, and worldwide rights licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Documentation Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

Keywords

• Art documentation services
• Catalogue raisonné publishing
• Artist legacy preservation
• Art archival research
• Fine art publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Glendale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Catalogue Raisonné Subscriptions: Annual subscription service for the online catalogue raisonné project offering EXPANDED access to full artwork documentation and archival materials at $100 per year. BASIC access is free.
2. Publication Sales: Sale of bilingual publications such as 'Sam Francis and Yves Michaud in Dialogue: Painting, Poetry, and Philosophy' priced at $45 USD / €39 EUR.
3. Research Funding and Grants: The foundation receives financial support from benefactors and grants for research activities, including major support from Getty Research Institute, Gallery Delaive, Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art, Galerie Kornfeld, University of California Press Foundation, and various donor foundations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Sam Francis Foundation operates an online, subscription-based Catalogue Raisonné Project that documents Sam Francis's complete body of work, supported by a fully digitized archival research database. The Foundation also produces bilingual scholarly publications, manages exhibition loans, and stewards image and reproduction licensing through ARS (Artists Rights Society) on behalf of the artist's estate.

Product overview

The Sam Francis Foundation operates a dual offering: a subscription-based online catalogue raisonné project documenting Sam Francis's artworks (with Basic and Expanded Access tiers), and published books. The catalogue raisonné is produced with panOpticon database software and provides comprehensive documentation of works including paintings, works on paper, monotypes, and mixed media, updated daily as research progresses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sam Francis: Online Catalogue Raisonné Project: A subscription-based educational service documenting unique works on canvas, paper, monotypes, limited editions and other media by Sam Francis. Offers Basic (free) and Expanded ($100 annual) access tiers.

Products and services

• Sam Francis Online Catalogue Raisonné Project
• Bilingual Scholarly Publications

Quantifiable outcome

• 150+ oral history interviews documented with artists, friends, family, studio assistants, curators, and art dealers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Getty Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Getty Research Institute houses the majority of the Sam Francis Papers and Archive. The foundation encourages researchers to review the GRI Finding Aid. The complete archives of filmed interviews and transcripts will be housed at GRI with a focused website and research portal in development. Getty scientists and conservators also assist with research activities.
• Plain Sight ArchivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation partnered with Plain Sight Archive to make available full transcriptions and short clips of each of the 150+ oral history interviews on their YouTube channel, expanding accessibility of research materials.
• Artists Rights Society (ARS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorARS handles worldwide rights and reproductions permissions for Sam Francis's works on behalf of the foundation. Contact: 65 Bleecker Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10012. ARS monitors and protects uses throughout the world.
• DoPe PressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDoPe Press co-publishes the new bilingual compendium 'Sam Francis and Yves Michaud in Dialogue: Painting, Poetry, and Philosophy' with the foundation. Publication is scheduled for July 2026, 336 pages, fully illustrated, bilingual English/French.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation: Foundation that administers Frankenthaler's catalogue raisonné, authentication, grants, and scholarly publications — operates an analogous IP-holding, scholarship-driven model to the Sam Francis Foundation.
• Cy Twombly Foundation: Foundation stewarding Cy Twombly's artistic legacy, archive, and IP rights — directly comparable artist-endowed body with catalogue raisonné activity and authentication authority.
• Agnes Martin Foundation: Foundation preserving Agnes Martin's archive and catalogue raisonné, managing IP and authentication — analogous artist-endowed foundation focused on a postwar abstractionist.
• Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts: Major artist-endowed foundation that stewards Andy Warhol's IP, runs authentication and licensing programs, funds scholarly publications, and supports the artist's catalogue raisonné — directly comparable in mission, IP stewardship, and scholarly publishing model.
• The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation: Foundation established to perpetuate Robert Rauschenberg's legacy, administering archival programs, publications, and licensing — closely aligned single-artist foundation with catalogue raisonné and educational programming.
• Dedalus Foundation (Robert Motherwell): Foundation dedicated to Robert Motherwell's artistic legacy, with active catalogue raisonné work, scholarly publications, and archive stewardship — closely aligned operating model for a postwar American abstract expressionist.
• The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation: Foundation that maintains Ellsworth Kelly's catalogue raisonné, archive, and licensed reproductions program — comparable single-artist foundation with digital catalogue and rights management.
• Pollock-Krasner Foundation: Single-artist estate foundation providing grants and legacy stewardship for Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner — directly comparable artist-endowed grantmaking foundation, though with broader grantmaking remit.
• Joan Mitchell Foundation: Artist-endowed foundation dedicated to preserving the legacy of Joan Mitchell, administering grants, publications, and a catalogue raisonné — operates on a near-identical mission and revenue structure to the Sam Francis Foundation.

Broad incumbents

• Wildenstein Plattner Institute: Major institutional player producing catalogues raisonnés for multiple artists, scholarly publications, and digital archives — broader catalogue raisonné publisher that overlaps with the Sam Francis Foundation's scholarly publishing mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@samfrancisfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sam-francis-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAM FRANCIS FOUNDATION