Relative

1968

Sam Gilliam

Associated Names
Sam Gilliam

Painter, American, 1933 - 2022

This painted canvas hangs on the wall loosely from four gathered peaks—one peak on each end to the left and right, and two peaks evenly spaced in between. The fabric is tightly wrapped with a leather cord into a fist-like form to create each peak, except for the right-most peak, where the fabric is knotted. The canvas is stained with large areas of soft color that largely meld together, with mostly pink, peach, and yellow to the left that transitions to violet, turquoise, and sky blue to the right. Hard-edged, vivid orange streaks break through the blues and greens to the right.

Media Options

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On View

East Building, Upper Level, Gallery E407

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    acrylic on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Anonymous Gift

  • Dimensions

    overall (suspended [installed] canvas): 304.8 x 411.48 cm (120 x 162 in.)
    overall (full canvas): 304.8 x 1341.1 cm (120 x 528 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1994.39.1

More About this Artwork

The image features a person with their upper body visible and slightly turned to the side. Their face is tilted upwards, and their mouth is open wide, displaying their teeth. The person's facial features are partially obscured due to low light. Their hair is short, and they are wearing earrings. They are dressed in a dark halter-top that reveals their shoulders, and they have a pendant necklace. The rest of the image is dark with little visible detail.

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist [b. 1933], Washington, D.C.; purchased 1994 through (Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C.) by NGA with funds from an anonymous donor.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1976

  • Sam Gilliam: Paintings and Works on Paper, The J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, 1976, no. 3, repro.

2005

  • Sam Gilliam: A Retrospective, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Speed Art Museum, Louisville; Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 2005-2007, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2018

  • The Music of Color: Sam Gilliam, 1967-1973, Kunstmuseum Basel, 2018, no. 28, repro.

Bibliography

1994

  • "Recent Additions to the Collections." [National Gallery of Art] Circle Bulletin no. 12 (Fall 1994): 28-29.

  • Fleming, Lee. "Sam Gilliam, Still Experimenting." The Washington Post (5 November 1994).

  • "A Gilliam's New Home." The Washington Post (22 May 1994).

1996

  • Rose, Barbara. "Abstraction as Identity." The International Review of African American Art 13, no. 3 (1996).

1997

  • Protzman, Ferdinand. "Drapes not Drawn." The Washington Post (21 June 1997).

Wikidata ID

Q20197003

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