WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Sam Gilliam

Sam Gilliam

Sam Gilliam

1933–2022

WA-00005622

PaintingColor FieldAbstract Art

Representation

None documented

6

Institutional Exhibitions

14

Works in Collection

75

Assets Indexed

17

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ2216478

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Sam Gilliam

Pace Gallery

2026

No image

American Drawn and Matched

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

Handmade Paper Prints and Unique Works

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

Printed, Cut, Folded, and Torn

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1974

No image

Projects: Sam Gilliam

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

No image

Recent American Acquisitions

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

Field Verification (7 fields)

4 cross-verified · 3 single-source

Primary mediumWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
Birth yearWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
Death yearWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
DeceasedWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
NationalityWikidata + Artsy+1· 92%
BiographyWikipedia + Ai Generated+1· 88%
LocationArtsy + Wikidata+1· 85%

Source Registry (6)

Kavi-Guptahttps://www.artsy.net/artist/sam-gilliam
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Corbett-Dempseyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/sam-gilliam
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Sothebyshttps://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/sam-gilliam
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
David-Kordanskyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/sam-gilliam
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Pace-Galleryhttps://www.pacegallery.com/artists/
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/2161
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

No biography available for Sam Gilliam yet.

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Color Field

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (14)

2004 · Cut and sewn color relief prints on wove paper, fabric, and felt

Support: 71.1 x 51 cm (28 x 20 1/16 in.); Sheet: 57.1 x 39.4 cm (22 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

1991 · oil on Japanese paper

Sheet: 56.6 x 82.2 cm (22 5/16 x 32 3/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Lattice II

1982 · Color intaglio with lithography on paper

Sheet: 81.5 × 112.5 cm (32 1/8 × 44 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Lattice III

1982 · Color intaglio with lithography on paper

Sheet: 81.3 × 113 cm (32 1/16 × 44 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Lattice IV

1982 · Color intaglio with lithography on paper

Sheet: 80 × 112 cm (31 1/2 × 44 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

To Braque for Mantelpieces

1982 · acrylic on canvas with collage, enamel on aluminum

Unframed: 185.4 x 75 x 5.1 cm (73 x 29 1/2 x 2 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Coffee Thyme II

Coffee Thyme II

1981 · Color intaglio with lithography, rubber stamp and debossing on paper

Sheet: 78.8 × 103.8 cm (31 1/16 × 40 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

1979 · Acrylic on canvas with collage sections

80 in. × 16 ft. 3 in. (203.2 × 495.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1974 · Screenprint

Sheet: 29 1/2 × 29 5/8 in. (74.9 × 75.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"A" and the Carpenter I

"A" and the Carpenter I

1973 · Acrylic and canvas draped over wooden sawhorses

Install (floor) 243.84 × 335.28 cm (96 × 132 in.) size varies with installation

Art Institute of Chicago

Fire

1972 · Color lithograph on white Japanese paper

61 × 48 cm (24 1/16 × 18 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Abstraction

1970 · Colored inks, with touches of silver metallic paint, on fabric

45.5 × 59.5 cm (17 15/16 × 23 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

1970 · Acrylic on canvas

9 ft. 3 1/4 in. × 9 ft. 7 1/2 in. (282.6 × 293.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1968 · Acrylic and aluminum powder on canvas

9.926 × 70.5 (302.6 × 2149.4 cm) Installed: 13 ft. 1 in. × 22 ft. (398.8 × 670.6 cm) [irregular shape]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View all 14 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

14 published of 21 catalogued · 14 with image

Art Institute Chicago
7 published7 img
The Met
4 published
Cleveland Museum of Art
3 published
+ 2 more sources · 7 catalogued, not yet published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 3)

3 entries · 1 sources

5 a.m.
2004 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Untitled
1991 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
To Braque for Mantelpieces
1982 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

29 assets

Artsy artwork: Balance

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Sam Gilliam - Red and Black to "D", historic 1982 Studio Museum of Harlem poster (Hand Signed by Sam Gilliam) (1991)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Wall

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Sam Gilliam - Buoy Landscape IV (1982)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Sam Gilliam - Cuatro (1994)

Artsy

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Sam Gilliam - Red and Black to "D", historic 1982 Studio Museum of Harlem poster (Hand Signed by Sam Gilliam) (1991)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Sam Gilliam Untitled (Purple) 1996 Signed Mixed Media on Paper (1996)

Artsy

View all 29 media items →

Relationships

7

Movements2

Color Field Abstract Art

Collections5

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Christie's Pace Gallery

Institutional

Representation & Collections

Gallery

Pace Gallery

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

Background

Education

University of Louisville

Visual Arts

Central High School

Visual Arts