1972
Postwar American artist Sam Gilliam was an innovative Color Field painter and lyrical abstractionist perhaps best known for working directly on draped, unprimed canvases freed from their stretcher bars in as early as the mid-1960s.
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Gilliam studied art at the University of Louisville, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine art. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1962, where he became associated with the Washington Color School. Inspired by the vibrant hues of German Expressionism, Gilliam pushed the limits of his medium by eliminating the use of easels and stretchers. Instead, he painted on draped canvases suspended from the walls and the ceiling of his studio.
Overlooked at first, the resulting works, radiant and rippling with energy, would become universally recognized as a hallmark of Gilliam’s oeuvre. Later in his career, he would draw inspiration from jazz and textile artistry, creating improvisational collage-style “quilted” paintings on nylon or canvas that recall quilt patterns.
In 1972, Gilliam became the first Black artist to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale; he also exhibited at the 2017 Venice Biennale. His works can be found in more than 50 public collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Corcoran Gallery of Art (now the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design) in Washington, D.C., the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Paris Museum of Modern Art, among many others. Gilliam’s awards include the United States State Department Medal of Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and more.
Find original Sam Gilliam prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Dance '72
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Color screenprint, 1972. Signed by the artist and dated in pencil, lower right margin. Numbered 24/60 in pencil lower left,. Printed and published by Workshop, Inc., Washington, D...
Screen
Canto Pisan
By Zao Wou-Ki
Located in New York, NY
A superb, richly-inked impression of this very scarce, early proof color aquatint on Arches. Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 180. Signed, dated and inscribed "H II fer pass...
Color, Aquatint
Flashback I
By John Chamberlain
Located in New York, NY
Color screenprint on Rives BFK with full margins. Signed and numbered by the artist in pencil.
Color, Screen
Concord
By James Brooks
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on white wove paper. Signed, dated and numbered 83/200 in pencil. Printed by Styria Studio, Inc., New York, with the blind stamp lowe...
Color, Screen
Untitled
By Sam Francis
Located in New York, NY
Dynamic and bold color lithograph on Rives BFK. One of 20 numbered Hors Commerce impressions, aside from the edition of 176. This stunning print is signed and inscribed "H.C. 10/20" ...
Color, Lithograph
Flashback II
By John Chamberlain
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on Rives BFK. Signed in pencil lower right margin. Numbered (81/175) in pencil in lower ;left margin. Full margins, sheet size: 28.13...
Color, Screen
Dogon V
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Sam Gilliam (1933–2022) is beloved as one of the 20th century's most important abstract artists. He was a true innovator in the evolution of American abstraction. Gilliam is credited...
Intaglio, Lithograph
Sam Gilliam - Monoprint with collage acrylic stitching & embossing Signed Framed
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Monoprint with screenprint, collage, acrylic, stitching and embossing in colors on handmade paper, 1994, signed, dated, titled, and numbered 10/40 (each unique) in black and silver i...
Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Rag Paper, Screen
Sam Gilliam - Ab Ex painting, Ex-Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Collection, Signed
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam Untitled Abstract Expressionist mixed media painting on paper, Ex-Museum of Modern Art Collection, 1968 Watercolor and Aluminum Paint on Fiberglass Paper. (Framed with Mu...
Fiberglass, Paint, Watercolor
"Recitals, Signed Mixed Media Print, Abstract Color Collage Design, 38x20"
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Union City, NJ
RECITALS is mixed media limited edition print by the renowned African American artist Sam Gilliam, created using Archival Inkjet, Relief, and Stencil techniques. This vertical, rainb...
Mixed Media
Sam Gilliam - Cuatro, Monoprint and collage acrylic stitching & embossing Signed
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...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Monoprint, Screen
Sam Gilliam 1998 Signed Mixed Media Lithograph Edition of 60
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Artist: Sam Gilliam Title: Untitled (1998) Year: 1998 Medium: Mixed Media Lithograph Size: 21.5" x 22" Frame: 28" x 29" x 3" Edition: 29/60 Inscription: Signed, dated, and numbered o...
Paper, Lithograph
