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Oral history interview with Sam Gilliam, 1984 Sept. 18

Archives of American Art

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
View Transcript for Oral history interview with Sam Gilliam, 1984 Sept. 18
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

Object Details

interviewee

Gilliam, Sam

interviewer

Young, Kenneth, 1933-

Subject

Downing, Thomas
Noland, Kenneth
University of Louisville

Place of publication, production, or execution

District of Columbia

Physical Description

Sound recording: 1 Sound cassette; 28 Pages, Transcript

Access Note / Rights

This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Summary

An interview of Sam Gilliam conducted 1984 Sept. 18, by Kenneth Young, for the Archives of American Art.
Gilliam speaks of his childhood in the South; discovering his talent and his early attraction to art; his education at the University of Louisville; how his philosophy of art developed; the influence of music; techniques and materials; early shows of his work; Washington artists he knew. He recalls Thomas Downing and Kenneth Noland.

Citation

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Sam Gilliam, 1984 Sept. 18. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Additional Forms

Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.

Funding

Funding for this interview was provided by Warner Communications, Inc. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Use Note

The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Biography Note

Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) was a painter from Washington, D.C.

Language Note

English .

Provenance

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Location Note

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

Record number

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11449
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212129
AAA_collcode_gillia84

Type

Sound recordings
Interviews

Theme

African American

Data Source

Archives of American Art

Topic

Painting -- Equipment and supplies
Painting -- Technique
African American artists
African American painters

Theme

African American

Metadata Usage

Usage conditions apply

Record ID

AAADCD_oh_212129

Discover More

Contemporary Visual Expressions

Mentors and Protégés

Artist Sam Gilliam smiles in a photo taken in front of artwork. Partially visible behind him are paint cans and an American flag.

Sam Gilliam

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