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Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) was an American abstract painter, sculptor, and arts educator. He is best known for his Drape paintings, which he first developed in the late 1960s. These works were large, colour-stained canvases that were draped and suspended from walls and ceilings. Gilliam's unique style emerged from the Washington, D.C. scene in the mid-1960s, where he elaborated upon and disrupted the ethos of Color School painting. While I couldn't find the title of the first painting Sam Gilliam ever made, one of his earliest known works is the 1968 painting Double Merge, which is considered an important early Drape painting.
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What You'll Learn
Sam Gilliam's early life and career
Sam Gilliam, born on November 30, 1933, in Tupelo, Mississippi, was an American abstract painter, sculptor, and arts educator. He was the seventh of eight children of Sam, a railroad worker, and Estery, a homemaker. Shortly after his birth, the Gilliams moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where Gilliam spent his childhood and youth.
Gilliam began painting in elementary school and received encouragement from his fifth-grade art teacher. He attended Louisville's Madison Junior High School and graduated from Central High School in 1951. Following this, he attended the University of Louisville, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1955. During that same year, he enrolled in graduate school at the same university and held his first solo art exhibition.
Gilliam served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958. After his discharge, he returned to the University of Louisville and completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in 1961. He initially taught art for a year in the Louisville public schools. In 1962, he married Dorothy Butler, a Louisville native and well-known journalist. That same year, Gilliam moved to Washington, D.C., where he lived for the rest of his life.
Gilliam's early career was influenced by the Washington Color School, a group of Washington-area artists who developed a form of abstract art from colour field painting in the 1950s and 1960s. He was particularly inspired by artists such as Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland, who broke the rules of abstract expressionism by pouring thinned paint directly onto unprimed canvas. Gilliam pushed this method further by folding and draping the canvas before it dried, creating unique "tie-dye" effects.
In the late 1960s, Gilliam began working with very large canvases, hanging vast pieces of painted cloth across walls and ceilings to emphasise the relationship between the work and its environment. This style of painting became known as his Drape paintings and brought him widespread recognition.
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The influence of the Washington Color School
Sam Gilliam is recognised as an influential figure in postwar American painting. He emerged from the Washington, D.C. scene in the mid-1960s, elaborating on and disrupting the ethos of the Washington Color School.
The Washington Color School was a group of Washington-area artists who developed a form of abstract art from colour field painting in the 1950s and 1960s. The movement emphasised the form-making capabilities of pure colour, creating deceptively simple compositions that evoked dynamism and tension. Artists associated with the Washington Color School include Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Thomas Downing, Paul Reed, Gene Davis, Leon Berkowitz, Alma Thomas, Hilda Thorpe, and Anne Truitt.
Gilliam was originally associated with the Washington Color School, but he soon moved beyond the group's core aesthetics of flat fields of colour by introducing both process and sculptural elements to his paintings. He became known as "the father of the draped canvas", a technique he invented in 1965. Inspired by laundry hanging on a clothesline, he set out to free the canvas from its frame, soaking and staining twenty-foot-long pieces of canvas, then twisting, folding, and shaping them before suspending them. This method created works like "Relative" (1968), where a vibrantly colour-soaked canvas hangs from a wall, creating triangular shapes and vertical lines of movement.
Gilliam's Drape paintings expanded upon the tenets of Abstract Expressionism in new ways, transforming his medium and the contexts in which it was viewed. By suspending stretcherless lengths of painted canvas from walls or ceilings, Gilliam's work took on a sculptural materiality, emphasising the relationship between the work and its environment. This innovation fundamentally redefined the relationship between the painting and the space it occupied.
In the late 1970s, Gilliam further expanded his experiments in colour and improvisation by cutting and rearranging geometric shapes from thickly painted canvases, creating shifting irregular patterns that resembled those found in African American "crazy quilts". His large-scale installations in metro stations and airports are as stimulating as his studio pieces.
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The development of his Drape paintings
Sam Gilliam is best known for his Drape paintings, which he first developed in the late 1960s. This period marked a series of breakthroughs for Gilliam, who transformed his medium and the contexts in which it was viewed.
Gilliam's Drape paintings were large, colour-stained canvases draped and suspended from walls and ceilings. They were created without stretchers or frames, and were often displayed in folded positions. The artist's unique approach to painting was inspired by the Washington Color School artists Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland, who broke the rules of abstract expressionism by pouring thinned paint directly onto unprimed canvas. Gilliam pushed this method further by folding and draping the canvas before it dried, creating unusual "tie-dye" effects.
Gilliam's Drape paintings were widely exhibited across the United States and internationally over the following decade. In 1969, Gilliam presented ten of his largest and most immersive Drape works at the Corcoran Gallery, including Baroque Cascade, a 150-foot-long canvas suspended from the rafters in the gallery's two-story atrium. Several other separate 75-foot-long wall-sized canvases were also draped on the gallery's walls. Baroque Cascade, in particular, was acclaimed by critics as a singular achievement in combining painting and architecture to explore space, colour, and shape.
In 1972, Gilliam became the first African-American artist to represent the US at the Venice Biennale, where he showcase his Drape paintings. One of Gilliam's Drape paintings, Double Merge (1968), was described as an important early work and pivotal to the artist's career. It was jointly acquired by the Dia Art Foundation, New York, and the Museum of Fine Art, Houston, in 2021.
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Double Merge (1968)
Sam Gilliam is an American abstract painter, sculptor, and arts educator. He was born in Mississippi and raised in Kentucky, and he spent most of his adult life in Washington, D.C. He is considered a pioneer of postwar American painting, particularly for his innovative "Drape" technique. This technique involves painting on frameless canvases and then stretching and hanging them in unique folded positions, creating a fusion of painting and architecture.
One of Gilliam's early and significant works is "Double Merge", created in 1968. It is an example of his “Drape” paintings, which he first developed in the late 1960s and exhibited extensively across the United States and internationally in the following decade. "Double Merge" is composed of two large, loose canvas panels. One panel is suspended at four points along the wall, while the other is suspended from six points and made to bulge into the gallery space, creating an enclosure-like form. This dynamic installation captures the historical moment of its creation in the late 1960s, a time when people were demanding more from abstraction.
The year 1968 was pivotal for Gilliam's career and personal life. It was during this time that he was developing his innovative approach to art, pushing the boundaries of abstract expressionism by incorporating process and sculptural elements. On the personal front, he had been married for a few years, and his wife had noticed his depressive periods, which would later be diagnosed as manic depression or bipolar disorder.
"Double Merge" showcases Gilliam's unique style and experimentation with colour and form. His work defies simple definition due to the authenticity of his vision and his constant evolution as an artist. The "Drape" technique, which "Double Merge" exemplifies, not only transformed Gilliam's medium but also redefined the context in which his art was viewed. This was especially significant given the social and political climate of the time, with the Civil Rights Movement challenging societal norms and values.
"Double Merge" is now recognised as an important early work by Sam Gilliam. In 2021, the Dia Art Foundation in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston jointly acquired the piece, demonstrating its cultural and historical significance. The painting was exhibited at Dia Beacon in New York from 2019 to 2022, where it continues to inspire and challenge viewers, solidifying Gilliam's legacy as a master of contemporary African American Colour Field painting.
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Sam Gilliam's legacy
Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) is considered one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. He is best known for his Drape paintings, which he first developed in the late 1960s. This unique style involved suspending large, stretcherless lengths of painted canvas from walls and ceilings, creating a three-dimensional artwork that transformed the context in which it was viewed.
Gilliam's work emerged from the Washington, D.C. scene in the mid-1960s, where he was associated with the Washington Color School. This group of artists developed a form of abstract art from colour field painting in the 1950s and 1960s. However, Gilliam moved beyond the group's core aesthetics by introducing both process and sculptural elements to his paintings.
Gilliam's Drape paintings were not merely an aesthetic proposition. As an African American artist working in the nation's capital during the Civil Rights Movement, his work was a way of defining art's role in a society undergoing dramatic change. This was particularly evident in his 1969 exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery, which included ten of his largest and most immersive Drape works, including Baroque Cascade, a 150-foot-long canvas suspended from the rafters in the gallery's two-story atrium.
Gilliam's work has been exhibited and sold through a broad array of galleries in Washington, across the United States, and internationally. He has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Kunstmuseum Basel in Switzerland. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts, and in 2021, the Dia Art Foundation in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston jointly acquired his important early work, Double Merge (1968).
Gilliam's legacy is that of a pioneering artist who pushed the boundaries of abstract art and redefined the role of art in society during a period of significant social change. His Drape paintings, in particular, stand as a testament to his innovative spirit and enduring influence on the art world.
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Frequently asked questions
It is unclear what the first painting Sam Gilliam ever made was, but his first solo art exhibition was in 1956 at his university.
It is unclear which piece was the first that Sam Gilliam sold, but his painting Lady Day II sold at Christie's auction in New York for $2.17 million in November 2018, a record for the artist.
Double Merge (1968) is considered one of the first of Gilliam's signature "Drape" paintings.
Gallerist Darthea Speyer represented Gilliam in Paris from 1970 until she closed her practice in the 2000s.
The first piece of Sam Gilliam's to be exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York was in 1971. It is unclear which piece was exhibited.
