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What kind of art does Sam Gilliam do?
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African-American artist Sam Gilliam is considered a color field painter and a lyrical abstractionist. He is most well-known for his large works in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which featured painted canvases draped from walls and ceilings. On 1stDibs, find a variety of original artwork from top artists.
1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
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Shop for Sam Gilliam Art on 1stDibs
Buoy Landscape IV, Mixed media signed/n limited edition Ab Ex relief print
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam
Buoy Landscape IV, 1982
Color relief print, etching, screenprint, drypoint, aquatint and roulette all from deeply etched copper plates, on handmade wove paper
31 1/2 × 24 inches
Hand signed and numbered 3/25 in graphite pencil
Hand-signed by artist, Signed by artist, numbered, and dated in pencil and blind-stamped by printer-publisher on lower right, titled in pencil on lower left, recto
Unframed with elegant deckled edges
Rare vintage intaglio and relief, all from deeply etched copper plates. Other works from this series are in the permanent collections of major museums & institutions like the Smithsonian, so they are quite scarce on the open market.
Steven M. Andersen (Printer)
Philip Barber (Printer)
Hang Nguyen (Printer)
Stephanie Nowack (Printer)
Michael Reid (Printer)
Daniel Rounds (Printer)
Vermillion Editions Limited (Publisher)
Sam Gilliam Biography:
Sam Gilliam was one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. He emerged from the Washington, D.C. scene in the mid 1960s with works that elaborated upon and disrupted the ethos of Color School painting.
A series of formal breakthroughs would soon result in his canonical Drape paintings, which expanded upon the tenets of Abstract Expressionism in entirely new ways. Suspending stretcherless lengths of painted canvas from the walls or ceilings of exhibition spaces, Gilliam transformed his medium and the contexts in which it was viewed. As an artist in the nation’s capital at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, this was not merely an aesthetic proposition; it was a way of defining art’s role in a society undergoing dramatic change. Gilliam pursued a pioneering course in which experimentation was the only constant. Inspired by the improvisatory ethos of jazz, his lyrical abstractions took on an increasing variety of forms, moods, and materials.
In addition to a traveling retrospective organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. in 2005, Sam Gilliam was the subject of solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1971); The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (1982); Whitney Museum of American Art, Philip Morris Branch, New York (1993); J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, Louisville, Kentucky (1996); Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. (2011); and Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland (2018), among many other institutions. A semi-permanent installation of Gilliam’s paintings opened at Dia:Beacon in August 2019. His work is included in over fifty public collections, including those of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Tate Modern, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Sam Gilliam, Green April, 1969, acrylic on canvas, 98 x 271 x 3 7/8 inches (248.9 x 688.3 x 9.8 cm), Collection of Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland, Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, photography by Lee Thompson...
Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Materials
Mixed Media, Pencil, Graphite, Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint, Screen
Cuatro (Monoprint with screenprint, collage, acrylic, stitching and embossing)
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam
Cuatro, 1994
Monoprint with screenprint, collage, acrylic, stitching and embossing in colors on handmade paper
Hand signed, dated, titled and annotated P/P by Sam Gilliam...
Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Materials
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Monoprint, Screen
Sam Gilliam Handmade Paper "Untitled #34" Acrylic. Signed & Dated
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY
“Untitled #34” was created by Sam Gilliam, one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. It is dated and signed on the lower front. The thick handmade paper is rich with folds and texture and the colors lively. In addition to Acrylic paint on the surface there appears to be imbedded color in the handmade paper which has additional embossed accents. Unframed the piece measures 16 x 14. Provenance of Yaw Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan is on the verso along with the note that the Paper Surfaces in contact with this artwork are acid free.
In the mid-1960s he emerged from the Washington D.C. scene with works that elaborated upon and disrupted the ethos of Color School painting. A series of formal breakthroughs would soon result in his canonical Drape paintings, which expanded upon the tenets of Abstract Expressionism in entirely new ways. One profound manner was the sculpture aspect of the painting giving it a free flowing expression of pure color.
In the latter half of the 1950s, Washington D.C. saw a flourishing of abstract art that emphasized the form-making capabilities of pure color. Known as The Washington Color School, the loosely affiliated group of abstract painters knew each other through various teaching experiences. The moniker has an uncertain origin but likely originated with the title of a 1965 exhibition at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, "Washington Color Painters," curated by Gerald Nordland. The show exhibited the works of Kenneth Noland, Paul Reed, Morris Louis, Howard Mehring, Thomas Downing, and Gene Davis. Additionally, Leon Berkowitz...
Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
Offset Lithograph Warmly Inscribed to Renowned African American Arts Educator
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam
Offset Lithograph Warmly Inscribed to Renowned African American Arts Educator, 1988
Offset Lithograph Card
Hand written, signed and inscribed card with a warm personal message from the artist
Frame Included
Hand written, signed and inscribed offset lithograph card with a warm personal message from Sam Gilliam to Lindsay Waldorf Patterson.
Measurements:
Frame:
14 7/8 x 12 x 1/2 inches
Card:
8 x 5 inches
The inscription reads:
To Lindsay:
With Warmest Regards
Sam Gilliam
Lindsay Waldorf Patterson was an American English literature educator and author as well as a MacDowell Colony fellow (3 awards); Edward Albee Foundation fellow (2 awards); recipient award National Foundation on Arts & Humanities.
Hand signed on the front
Provenance:
From the estate of Lindsay Waldorf Patterson. Lindsay Waldorf Patterson was an American English literature educator and author as well as an MacDowell Colony fellow (3 awards); Edward Albee Foundation fellow (2 awards); recipient award National Foundation on Arts & Humanities.
Formerly an account executive, Harrison Advertising Agency, New York City, 1964; feature writer and columnist assistant to Langston Hughes, Associated Negro Press, 1965; special feature writer (film) Uptight,, Paramount Pictures, 1968; co-host Celebrity Hour program, Station WRVR-FM, New York City, 1974-1977; co-host Black Conversations program, Station WPIX-television, New York City, 1976-1979; assistant Professor of English, Queens College, Flushing, New York, since 1990. Adjunct Professor Afro-American & Caribbean literature, black theater...
Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
Materials
Lithograph, Offset, Ink
After Smoke
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Color screenprint on Arches paper. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 22/73 in pencil by Gilliam. Printed by Lou Stovall at the Workshop, Inc., Washington,...
Category
1980s Color-Field Abstract Prints
Materials
Color, Screen
Untitled
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this screenprint on hand made, hand dyed paper. Signed, dated and numbered 7 in pencil by Gilliam.
Category
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
Materials
Dye, Handmade Paper, Color, Screen