1982
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.
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 - 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 - 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
Abstract Expressionist monotype (unique), signed and inscribed with heart Framed
By Robert Natkin
Located in New York, NY
Robert Natkin monotype (unique) on paper signed in marker on the front Pencil signed, and inscribed with heart doodle: "For Dorothy and Arthur with my Love Natkin" Provenance: collec...
Monotype
Andrea Belag - New Moon, signed monotype by abstract artist, unique, unframed
By Andrea Belag
Located in New York, NY
Andrea Belag New Moon, 1990 Monotype on Wove Paper 42 × 30 inches Hand signed and dated on the front Published by Pelavin Editions, with blind stamp on the front Unique Unframed Love...
Lithograph, Monotype
Leslie B. Weissman - Untitled Abstraction - mixed media painting on paper Signed
Located in New York, NY
Leslie B. Weissman Untitled abstraction, 2016 Acrylic and mixed media painting on paper 15 × 18 inches Pencil signed and dated by the artist on the lower left front Unframed Biograph...
Mixed Media, Acrylic
"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
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
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
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, DC...
Screen
Abstract VI, Abstract Expressionist Monotype by Dana Gordon
By Dana Gordon
Located in Long Island City, NY
Dana Gordon, American (1944 - ) - Abstract VI, Year: circa 1990, Medium: Monotype on Wove Paper, Image Size: 30 x 22 inches, Size: 32 x 24 in. (81.28 x 60.96 cm)
Monotype
"Infinity" Colorful, Abstract Monotype Print
By Natasha Karpinskaia
Located in New York, NY
Infinity Monotype print Natasha Karpinskaia's paintings are characterized by their vibrant colors, bold shapes, and dynamic compositions. She uses a variety of media, including acry...
Paint, Monoprint, Monotype, Paper
Once built for curbs and handrails, these boards now hang beside blue-chip works in major museums and collectors’ homes.
Americans are rediscovering the globe-trotting painter and poet, who was connected to all sorts of art movements across a long and varied career.
