Pam am Francis (1954–2020) was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated with a BFA in studio art, specializing in photography and graphic design, in spring 1979 at the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. Her early works include portrait photographs for the covers of Texas Monthly, beginning in 1991 with Dan Rather, CBS Evening News anchor, and Oscar Wyatt, founder and CEO of Coastal Corporation. By 2001, recognized as one of the top photographers in Houston, Francis became the chief photographer for the Houston Texans Got Tickets billboard campaign, shooting iconic images of Lyle Lovett, the members of Destiny’s Child, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, and President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush. Throughout her career, Francis presented sustained, eloquent, and provocative exploration of portraiture. She cultivated technical finesse and clearly communicated the vitality she derived from her subjects
1979
BFA, Photography and Graphic Design, College of Fine Arts, University of Texas at Austin
1974–75
Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
2002–20
Pam Francis Photography, Two Hyde Park, Houston Photography studio and venue for private events
1994–2020
Turn to Texas, 2700 Albany Street and Two Hyde Park, Houston Venue for artistic directors and photographers to exhibit their work
1990–2020
Real People, 2700 Albany Street and Two Hyde Park, Houston Modeling agency for non-models for photoshoots and advertising assignments
1989–2002
Pam Francis Photography, 2700 Albany Street, Houston Photography studio in historic 1913 DePelchin Faith Home building
1986–89
Pam Wilson Graphics, 2700 Albany Street, Houston Graphic design studio in historic 1913 DePelchin Faith Home building
1990–2020
Award
42nd Houston Advertising Federation ADDY Award: Ellie Malavis Creative Services, HSPCA Public Service
Award
35th Houston Advertising Federation American Advertising Award: Pam Francis Photography, Media Ink, Still Photography, Black and White
Collection
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Born in Houston, Texas, Pam Francis (1954-2020) has captured some of the most indelible magazine images in the past three decades – for Texas Monthly, People, Time, Sports Illustrated, and others. Many of these photos - of George W. Bush, Bob McNair, J.J. Watt, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, Luc Longley, Jerry Jones, Dat Nguyen, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Carl Lewis, George Foreman, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Tilman Fertitta, Mark Cuban, and Drayton, McClane – are featured in the exhibition Game Time: Pam Francis Photographs. Dedicated to athletes, coaches, and owners – this exhibition showcases for the first time Francis’s powerful portraits from the early 1990s to 2000s.
Francis’s ability to execute images that expose the personality and private side of her sitter have led to her wide acclaim. Her photographs embody a bold, American view of contemporary life and pop culture. Francis is a people photographer; she captured and made timeless something about each person she photographed.
The Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston will present the first museum survey exhibition of distinguished Houston-born artist and photographer Pam Francis (1954–2020). Pam Francis Photographs will be on view April 19 to 26, 2022, in the Joanne Guest Wilson Gallery. Visit the Blaffer Art Museum website for exhibition times and directions.
Francis is considered one of the top editorial and portrait photographers in Houston. This exhibition spans more than three decades of her art practice, from 1987 to 2020, assembling more than 100 photographs and collecting artifacts that include the artist’s camera, selected slides, contact sheets, CDs, films, and ephemera.
POST HTX is presenting the first photography exhibition of the remarkable Houston-born artist and photographer Pam Francis (1954–2020). Music of the South: Pam Francis Photographs will be on view November 13, 2021, to January 11, 2022.
The exhibition includes a portrait of Lyle Lovett for MET magazine in 1990 and one of the first official portraits of the group Destiny’s Child from 2000. In 2001, Francis was the lead photographer for Southern rap artists in Houston, shooting for XXL, the New York-based hip-hop and entertainment magazine. The exhibition includes portraits of UGK (Pimp C and Bun B), Slim Thug, Lil’ O, Mike Jones, Lil’ Keke, Lil’ Flip, and music producers J. Prince and Tony Draper. Also in 2001, as one of the chief photographers for the Houston Texans Got Tickets billboard campaign, Francis captured iconic images of Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, Lyle Lovett, Destiny’s Child, and Clay Walker.
Pam Francis started photographing musicians in the early 1990s beginning with Lyle Lovett, Selena, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, and Hank Williams Jr. By the early 2000s, as the lead photographer for the Houston Texans Got Tickets billboard campaign, she photographed Destiny’s Child, ZZ Top, and Clay Walker. Francis also contributed to the campaign to promote Southern rap in Houston as a photographer for national hip-hop magazines such as XXL and Source.
In 1989, Pam Francis photographed Dennis and Randy Quaid for a special feature in Ultra magazine. Her photographs of Kevin Costner and other cast members of Tin Cup––Don Johnson, Rene Russo, Linda Hart, and Cheech Marin––were featured in the 1996 issue of Private Clubs magazine. In 2002, Francis photographed Dan Aykroyd for the opening of House of Blues in Las Vegas.
Pam Francis photographed Houston mayor Robert Clayton Lanier in 1997 for Texas Monthly. In the early 2000s, People magazine commissioned Francis to photograph “Lady Bird” Johnson and Luci Baines Johnson. During that same period, Francis photographed Texas governor George W. Bush and Laura Bush at the governor’s mansion in Austin. In 2001, she went to Kennebunkport, Maine, to photograph President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush for the Houston Texans Got Tickets billboard campaign.
In 1990, Pam Francis photographed Herb Kelleher, CEO and founder of Southwest Airlines, for the cover of Texas Business magazine. Francis also was commissioned several times by Texas Monthly, including for a special feature on Texas lieutenant governor William P. Hobby Jr. (September 1997) and for a cover story on Oscar Wyatt, CEO and founder of Coastal Corporation (April 2001). In 2000, Francis was the chief corporate photographer for Enron. She also photographed Kenneth Lay, Enron CEO, founder, and chairman; Jeffrey Skilling, Enron CEO; and Sherron Watkins, Enron vice-president of business development, for Continental Business and Technology and Business Week magazines. In 2003, Francis photographed Michael Dell, CEO, founder, and chairman of Dell Technologies for the Dell Technologies corporate magazine.
In 1991, Pam Francis photographed Hakeem Olajuwon for Parade magazine. Tim Duncan, power forward of the San Antonio Spurs, was featured in Sport magazine in 1998. In 2004, Francis photographed Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell at the 2004 Houston Astros All-Stars game at Minute Maid Park. The same year, Francis also photographed Houston Astros All-Stars pitcher Roger Clemens. In 2014, Francis shot J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans in a special feature of Vault Sports Illustrated.
In 2001, Pam Francis was the lead photographer for the American hip-hop and rap magazine XXL. Francis photographed rap artists Pimp C, Lil’ Flip, Bun B, UGK (Pimp C and Bun B), Mddl Fngz, Devin the Dude, Mike Jones, Big Moe, Lil’ Keke, Slim Thug, and music producers J. Prince and Tony Draper. The same year, Francis’s photographs of Lil’ O and J. Prince were featured in The Source magazine. Francis also photographed UGK for the cover of their 2001 album Dirty Money.
In 1990, Pam Francis photographed Dan Rather for the cover of Texas Monthly magazine. Over the next ten years, Francis photographed many notable Texans for People magazine, including Houston television personality Marvin Zindler; democratic political consultant James Carville; Linda Kelley, leader of the organization Parents of Murdered Children; Rusty Yates, husband of Andrea Yates, who murdered her own five children; and Mary Verrett, sister of James Byrd Jr., a young Black man who was killed by three white supremacists in Jasper, Texas.
In 1990, Pam Francis photographed jewelry designer Paloma Picasso for an exclusive feature in a jewelry magazine. In 1998, Francis shot the cover of the wedding issue of Paper magazine, featuring the contemporary artist duo the Art Guys (Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing) dressed in a tuxedo and wedding dress. Inside the issue, Francis created a unique portrait of the artists hung on the wall like a framed work of art in a living room. In 2003, Francis photographed Peter C. Marzio, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1982–2010), for the cover of USA Weekend.
In 2008, Pam Francis photographed Barbara Bears, principal dancer for Houston Ballet (1995–2009) and Ian Casady, principal dancer for Houston Ballet (2007–present) for the ballet Marie. Francis was also commissioned by Houston Ballet to photograph the other principal dancers Melody Mennite, Mireille Hassenboehler, and Amy Fote with Bears for Marie.
In 1991, Pam Francis photographed Deke Slayton, NASA Mercury 7 astronaut for Houston Press. The following year, she photographed Charles Bolden, NASA astronaut and administrator.
In 1991, Pam Francis traveled with her friend and neighbor Kenneth Jenkins to Russia and Ukraine to photograph Jenkins’s skydive with the Russian Skydive Federation.
In the late 1990s to early 2000s, Pam Francis photographed civic and philanthropic leaders in Houston: Joanne Guest Wilson, Carolyn Farb, and Jeanie Kilroy Wilson. In 2000, Francis was commissioned by mayor Robert Clayton Lanier and Elyse Lanier to take their daughter’s wedding portrait.