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Sam Gilliam Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

American, 1933-2022

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.

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Artist: Sam Gilliam
Untitled, Ex-Museum of Modern Art Collection & Exhibit with original MOMA label
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam Untitled, Ex-Museum of Modern Art Collection, 1968 Watercolor and Aluminum Paint on Fiberglass Paper. (Framed with Museum of Modern Art Collection Label Verso and Exhibition brochure from the American Embassy...
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1960s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

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Fiberglass, Paint, Watercolor

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Previously Available Items
Sam Gilliam "Corner" Watercolor
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Located in Toronto, Ontario
Sam Gilliam (b. 1933) is one of America’s most prominent and innovative abstract painters. Initially associated with the color-field painters in Washington DC, Gilliam has had a len...
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Sam Gilliam drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Sam Gilliam drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs.
Questions About Sam Gilliam Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    American artist Sam Gilliam is best known for his contributions to the Washington Color School movement through his famed ‘drape paintings’. He is credited as being the first artist to engage with idea of a draped, painted canvas without stretcher bars during the 1960s. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of expertly-vetted Sam Gilliam pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    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.

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