Artist

Sam Gilliam

born Tupelo, MS 1933-died Washington, DC 2022
Media - portrait_image_113542.jpg - 90299
Courtesy Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Born
Tupelo, Mississippi, United States
Died
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Active in
  • Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Biography

Gilliam is an innovative color field painter who has advanced the inventions associated with the Washington Color School. During the late 1970s, Sam Gilliam discovered that by cutting and rearranging geometric shapes from thickly painted canvases, he could expand his experiments in color and improvisation. The shifting irregular patterns in these randomly patterned canvases resemble those found in African American "crazy quilts." His large scale installations in metro stations and airports are as stimulating as his studio pieces.

Gwen Everett African American Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C. and New York: Smithsonian American Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2003)

Works by this artist (22 items)

Sam Gilliam, Swing, 1969, acrylic and aluminum on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. Edwin Janss, Jr., 1973.189
Swing
Date1969
acrylic and aluminum on canvas
On view
Sam Gilliam, G.D.S., 1978, screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Donald A. Brown, 1978.168.39, © 1978, Sam Gilliam
G.D.S.
Date1978
screenprint on paper
Not on view
Sam Gilliam, Campus Center View, 1967-1977, painted fiber and paper, wood, stone, fabric, and plastic assembled on wood base in plexiglass case, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.42
Campus Center View
Date1967-1977
painted fiber and paper, wood, stone, fabric, and plastic assembled on wood base in plexiglass case
Not on view
Sam Gilliam, Art Ramp Angle Brown, 1978, acrylic and oil enamel on canvas and nylon, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.41
Art Ramp Angle Brown
Date1978
acrylic and oil enamel on canvas and nylon
Not on view

Videos

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0.00%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected

      An interview with the artist Sam Gilliam. Sam Gilliam grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, and studied art in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1962 he moved to Washington, D.C., and created abstract paintings inspired by the Washington Color School artists Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland. These artists, among others, broke the rules of abstract expressionism by pouring thinned paint directly onto unprimed canvas instead of applying thick, vigorous brushstrokes. Gilliam pushed this method even further by folding and draping the canvas before it dried, creating unusual "tie-dye" effects. He started working with very large canvases in the late 1960s, hanging vast pieces of painted cloth across walls and ceilings to emphasize the relationship between the work and its environment.

      Exhibitions

      Media - 1977.48.5 - SAAM-1977.48.5_1 - 59312
      Local Color: Washington Painting at Midcentury
      July 3, 2008October 12, 2008
      Explore the expressive possibilities of color in this special installation of twenty-seven large-scale paintings from the museum's permanent collection.
      Media - 1967.59.1118 - SAAM-1967.59.1118_1 - 2924
      Artworks by African Americans from the Collection
      August 31, 2016February 28, 2017
      In celebration of the 2016 Grand Opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, SAAM will display 184 of its most important artworks by African Americans.
      Media - 1995.22.1 - SAAM-1995.22.1_1 - 65784
      African American Art in the 20th Century
      The Smithsonian American Art Museum is home to one of the most significant collections of African American art in the world.

      Related Posts

      Detail of a quilt featuring images of Martin Luther King Jr.
      Education01/14/2022
      While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was a pivotal moment in U.S. history, there’s more to his life and legacy than that single story. Smithsonian educators share approaches to expand classroom lessons and student understanding of this great civil rights leader.
      A photograph of Phoebe Hillemann
      Phoebe Hillemann
      Teacher Institutes Educator
      Candra Flanagan
      Eden Cho