Skip to main content

Sam Gilliam 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.

Find original Sam Gilliam prints and other art on 1stDibs.

to
1
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
1
1
1
2
3
3
2
2
2
1
14
770
764
733
680
2
1
3
Artist: Sam Gilliam
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...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Fiberglass, Paint, Watercolor

"Arches" Sam Gilliam, Acrylic and Glass Abstract, Washington Color School
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam Arches, 2014 Signed, titled and dated lower left; signed, titled, and inscribed "to Necia" on the reverse Acrylic and glass on paper 10 1/4 x 14 inches Provenance The ar...
Category

2010s Color-Field Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Glass, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Manet Acrylic, collage, relief, handmade paper, screen print, cutouts Stitching
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Southampton, NY
The work of Sam Gilliam 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, ...
Category

1990s Abstract Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Screen, Handmade Paper

Related Items
At sea between fossils and satellites 7 (blue organic copper abstract texture)
By Melisa Taylor Metzger
Located in Quebec, Quebec
"At Sea between Fossils and Satellites 7" is a textural and elemental abstract painting on canvas. It explores the hybridization of chance-derived color-fields with art deco aestheti...
Category

2010s Color-Field Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Acrylic Polymer, Found Objects, Oil, Acrylic

OYV-19 - Contemporary Abstract Collage Painting- Yellow, measuring tape
Located in Signal Mountain, TN
OYV-19 is part of Eric Mack's ongoing body of work utilizing multi-media, complex compositions, and a grid centered around urban design. Using a grid to create the framework of the painting, Mack has re-purposed an old Lenny Kravitz album cover as the structure of the piece. On the edges of the piece you can see a complex edge consisting of a faux leather album cover, nylon mesh, and torn paper. As imagery, Mack has chosen musical notes, tape measure, and other music composition elements through Zerox copy adhered by matte medium to the surface. Mack then creates his own color to further tweak and personalize the piece. Eric Mack (b.1976, Charleston) creates mathematically based renderings with a distinct post-modern twist. Works are informed with super imposed grids, patterns, and portals. Layered surfaces are created with paint, found objects, natural fibers, and synthetic substrates that explore the systems of our visual world. His most recent show “Charting the Terrain” is on view now at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles was covered by the Los Angeles Times, KCRW, and LALA Magazine. His last solo exhibition was titled "Impossible Architectures" at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017. Recent group shows include "Abstract Mind" at the Czong Institute of Contemporary Art, South Korea, "Small Works 2017 at Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, "Checkered History", Outpost Artist Resources, Brooklyn, N.Y. 2015; Collections include High Museum Atlanta, Ing Investments, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport - Atlanta + Atlanta Gas & Light Co. Pepsi Cola, Tate Properties, Heath Gallery, Harold Dawson Properties, Turner Field/Atlanta Braves...
Category

2010s Abstract Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Nylon, Acrylic, Panel, Handmade Paper, Mesh

Poemes XLVI - Contemporary Vibrant Yellow Abstract Textured Painting
By Raul de la Torre
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Experimentation with different materials, textures and techniques in each of his paintings has been a point of discovery and a major part of Raul de la Torre’s artwork. In his Poemes...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Thread, Mixed Media, Acrylic

My Joyful Heart - Lively Colorful Abstract 3-D Painted Weaving
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Impasto-painted strokes of bright colors are the framework of artist Shiri Phillips’ abstract artworks. Her paintings are flooded with texture through the layering of acrylic paint i...
Category

2010s Abstract Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Wire

Rift Valley, sonde 8 (texture abstract canvas bronze metallic burgundy wine red)
By Melisa Taylor Metzger
Located in Quebec, Quebec
“Rift Valley, Sonde 8” is a striking mixed-media composition that harmonizes Color-field staining, impasto-relief techniques, and gestural painting to create an immersive, multilayer...
Category

2010s Color-Field Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Acrylic Polymer, Found Objects, Oil, Acrylic

Rift Valley, sonde 7 (texture sand abstract canvas gold Earth rust red green)
By Melisa Taylor Metzger
Located in Quebec, Quebec
“Rift Valley, Sonde 7” is a striking mixed-media composition that harmonizes Color-field staining, impasto-relief techniques, and gestural painting to create an immersive, multilayer...
Category

2010s Color-Field Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Acrylic Polymer, Found Objects, Oil, Acrylic

"Quarry" by Katheryn Holt - Green and Ochre Tone Color-Field Abstract Painting
Located in Carmel, CA
Katheryn Holt (American, born 1951) "Quarry" 2022 Oil Paint, Mixed Media, Wood Panel, Wood The artist signed the back of the painting. About the Artist: Katheryn Holt paints memory....
Category

2010s Color-Field Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil, Wood, Wood Panel

Charles Ragland Bunnell Abstract Expressionist Watercolor, Mid-Century Modern
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This original abstract expressionist watercolor by Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897–1968) is a striking example of mid-20th-century American abstraction. The composition features bold b...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Mod Abstract Expressionist Modernist Edward Avedisian Color Field Art Gouache
By Edward Avedisian
Located in Surfside, FL
Edward Avedisian Gouache Watercolor Abstract Painting on Arches paper. (notebook cover not included) Unsigned, (bears name verso in pencil.) Dimensions: 10" X 14" Late 1970s, early ...
Category

1970s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Abstract Expressionist British Original Watercolor Painting Shapes Patterns
By Robert Somerton
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Abstract Composition (c.2022) by Robert Somerton, British, born 1972. ink/ watercolor on art paper, unframed size: 12.5 x 9.5 inches condition: excellent
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Sky - Colour field blue, 100x100cm, Limited Edition of 10.
By Ugne Pouwell
Located in London, GB
'Sky' London, United Kingdom 2024 Limited edition of 10 Pinted on archival Hahnehmule Photo rag paper, with care and attention to detail. The process involves layering ink bet...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Color-Field Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Glass, Ink, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Bold Graphic Abstract Expressionist Mixed Media Painting Richard Snyder NYC Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Richard Snyder (American, born 1951) Untitled Mixed media painting including charcoal and watercolor Hand signed to lower right Dimensions: 30.0" W x 22.5" H x 0.1" D Richard Snyder is particularly known for his large-scale abstract expressionist paintings exhibiting vibrant colors, often applied in an irregular manner with large gestural brushstrokes. He also was an accomplished sculptor and was amongst the downtown New York art-furniture scene spawned in the 1980s by the Soho gallery ‘Art et Industrie’ founded by Rick Kaufmann. Downtown New York, circa 1977-1980 was a hothouse of creative impulses that flew in the face of restrictions and ran headlong toward riotous expression. Punk, hip-hop, graffiti or neo-expressionism, Kaufmann looked around for new talent that could create a new kind of art furniture. He felt the design of the day was so standardised, and he wanted to give voice to young artists and bring new ideas to market. After receiving a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Snyder made his career in the fields of art and design, practicing sculpture, painting, furniture design and fabrication, interior design, cabinetmaking, construction and industrial design. Along with extensive experience in a wide variety of materials and processes, Snyder also possesses a wide range of visual and experiential vocabulary acquired in his many travels through the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Central and Southeast Asia. Snyder considers his objects to be not just about form, function, color, material and process, but rather to be fantasies with spirit, magic and story. During his seventeen years with the Art et Industrie gallery, Snyder participated in five solo shows and more than twenty group shows, which established him as a major player in the American Art Furniture movement. His pieces have appeared in numerous publications and media around the world; and they are included in numerous private collections worldwide as well as in the permanent collection of The Art Institute of Chicago. Snyder guest-lectures at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, the New School in New York, and SUNY Purchase. He was included in the seminal Magen H Gallery retrospective of Art et Industrie—a New York Movement. Art et Industrie was the first to exhibit Studio Alchemia, Shiro Takahama, and Ron Arad. The retrospective included artists such as Forrest Myers, Terence Main...
Category

20th Century Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Watercolor, Gouache

Previously Available Items
"Untitled" Sam Gilliam, Expressionist, Washington Color School, Intense Color
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam Untitled, 1991 Signed and inscribed "To Necia" lower center Acrylic on cloth 25 x 15 inches Provenance The artist Necia Harkless, Lexington, Kentucky Estate of the above...
Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Acrylic

Sam Gilliam Handmade Paper "Arrow Head #4", Signed & Dated
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Arrow Head #4” was created by Sam Gilliam, one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. The thick handmade paper is rich ...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Handmade Paper

"Manet" Acrylic, collage, relief painting, screen print, cutouts and stitching
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Southampton, NY
The work of Sam Gilliam 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...
Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Acrylic, Screen, Thread

"Chakaia" Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media Canvas Assemblage Painting
By Sam Gilliam
Located in Houston, TX
Contemporary abstract canvas assemblage painting by American artist Sam Gilliam. The work features a central arrangement of crumpled canvas set against a pink and purple background. The title, "Chakaia," refers to Chakaia Booker, an American female artist known for her monumental recycled tire sculptures. Signed, titled, and dated along the front central margin. Currently hung in a black floating frame with a white matting. Dimensions Without Frame: H 20 in. x W 29 in. Artist Biography: Sam Gilliam (1933–2022, Tupelo, Mississippi) is one of the great innovators in postwar American painting...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Sam Gilliam "Corner"
By Sam Gilliam
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...
Category

1960s Abstract Sam Gilliam Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Sam Gilliam paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Sam Gilliam paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Sam Gilliam in acrylic paint, handmade paper, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Sam Gilliam paintings, so small editions measuring 20 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Arthur Pinajian, Sherron Francis, and Todd Boppel. Sam Gilliam paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,400 and tops out at $31,500, while the average work can sell for $19,950.
Questions About Sam Gilliam 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.
  • 1stDibs ExpertAugust 15, 2024
    How much a Sam Gilliam painting is worth depends on its subject, condition and other factors. His 1971 painting Lady Day II was sold for over $2 million in an auction at Christie’s New York in 2018, setting a new record for the artist. The postwar American artist was an innovative Color Field painter and lyrical abstractionist, perhaps best known for working directly on draped, unprimed canvases freed from their stretcher bars as early as the mid-1960s. In 1972, he became the first Black artist to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. If you own a Gilliam painting, a certified appraiser or knowledgeable art dealer can evaluate your piece and give you an estimate of its value. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Sam Gilliam art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertOctober 30, 2024
    How much a Sam Gilliam painting is worth depends on its history, size, condition and other factors. In 2018, the artist’s acrylic on canvas painting Lady Day II sold for more than $2.1 million at auction in New York City. 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 as early as the mid-1960s. In 1972, Gilliam became the first Black artist to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. If you own a Gilliam painting, a certified appraiser or experienced art dealer can assist you with the valuation process. Explore an assortment of Sam Gilliam art on 1stDibs.