Light Fan

Sam Gilliam, Light Fan, 1966, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1977.48.2
Sam Gilliam, Light Fan, 1966, acrylic on canvas, 36 1436 in. (92.191.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1977.48.2

Artwork Details

Title
Light Fan
Artist
Date
1966
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
36 1436 in. (92.191.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Woodward Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
acrylic on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1977.48.2

Artwork Description

Light Fan has the feel of an image seen from space – a sunrise observed from an orbiting capsule through a window struck by a ray of light or the blue and green depths of an ocean giving way to sunwarmed shallows. The effect is diaphanous; color has bled in irregular pools as the tidal pull of capillary action moved wet pigment around a field of color on a finely woven fabric. Edges freely shift in a way that is both accidental and controlled.


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Works by this artist (4 items)

Charles White, The Children, 1950, ink and graphite on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Julie Seitzman and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2009.13
The Children
Date1950
ink and graphite on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Love Letter, 1971, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of June Wayne, 1991.179.14, © 1971, Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles
Love Letter
Date1971
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Love Letter, 1971, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of June Wayne, 1991.179.15, © 1971, Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles
Love Letter
Date1971
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Hasty B, 1970, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1979.155.1
Hasty B
Date1970
lithograph on paper
Not on view

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      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.

      More Artworks from the Collection

      Lee Godie, To the Dynamic Sarlo (Woman in Red with Decorated Hat), 1960s, oil and acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.22
      To the Dynamic Sarlo (Woman in Red with Decorated Hat)
      Date1960s
      oil and acrylic on canvas
      Not on view
      Barry Dalgleish, Interior with Trunk, 1984, acrylic and oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.84.2
      Interior with Trunk
      Date1984
      acrylic and oil on canvas
      Not on view
      Stanley Edwards, Infant in Altar IV, 1965, oil and acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1980.137.24
      Infant in Altar IV
      Date1965
      oil and acrylic on canvas
      Not on view