An untitled work by Sam Francis is among the highlights of Bonhams' Made in California sale in Los Angeles on March 31.

The painting is expected to make around $100,000-150,000.

Sam Francis was an important American abstract artist

Francis (1923-1994) was an abstract painter whose work was particularly popular outside the United States. The present lot was executed in 1948, shortly before his move to Paris - where he allied himself with the tachisme movement.

Tachisme was conceived as the French response to abstract expressionism and fed in to other key European movements of the era, such as COBRA.

A piece titled Symphony in Blue set a new record for a Sam Francis work on paper when it sold for $1.3m at Sotheby's in 2013.

John Register's Two Telephones is valued at $40,000-60,000.

Register (1939-1996) began his painting career in a Madison Avenue advertising agency, but simply walked out one day claiming he was late for a dental appointment.

His distinctive, Hopper-esque paintings remain relatively unknown. A piece titled Purple Chair made $86,500 at Bonhams Los Angeles in 2013.

The sale will include a range of works from other California-based artists, including John Saccaro and Robert Arneson.

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