Harley Francis (1940-2017) was born in New Albany, Indiana, and began painting at sixteen. He studied art at Indiana University and Oberlin College, developing a diverse practice over 50 years that included oil painting, collage, clay work, and artistamps across multiple genres from portraiture to abstracts.

Francis gained early recognition and held numerous exhibitions, becoming internationally known in the 1970s through the Mail Art movement, which led to inclusion in a 1979 Museum of Modern Art show. Though appreciated in small circles during his lifetime, his massive posthumous archive reveals him as a rediscovered artist whose work is now in private collections and museums worldwide.