Level One

An abstract and colorful artwork featuring layers of paint. — A rectangular piece containing abstract , layered, textured and colorful artwork is roughly divided into four sections - the two on top taller than the two at the bottom - and features a separate artwork within a frame at its center. The top left quarter features a light and airy blue, which at times exposes the white underneath. Two organic ridged shapes are positioned near the center of this quarter - one is blue and white and slightly smaller, the other is positioned above the first shape and is blue, white and red. The top right section is primarily made up of a light green and orange. The blue of the upper left quarter and the light green of the upper right blend together in the middle of the piece, creating a vibrant green. A thick light green-pale yellow band descends from the top of the upper right quarter and divides into two thinner bands, which tilt slightly to the right and have rounded ends. A pale shape which resembles a profile view of a reclining head is positioned to the right of the descending green band. A yellow and light orange triangle flows out of the pale shape, almost like hair. The rest of the upper right section is taken up by a black shape in the background, a descending thin ridge shaped band, and a descending curved beige band. A grey background sets the tone of the lower left quarter. A dark blue/black shape descends from the left side. The bottom of a column-like structure stands immediately to the dark blue shape's right. The column appears to be painted white, with an orange over coat covering the left side of its surface, and features drips of orange on the right side. The right side of this quarter is mostly obscured by the small painting within the larger piece, but contains a dark green background with short horizontal red lines descending from the top , and a long organic black shape in the lower right of the quarter. The left side of the bottom right quarter is a solid beige which gradually fades. A white diagonal line intersects this area and is connected to a dark blue shape, which could be someone's hair, and is in turn connected on the other side by a small round, brown shape, which could be a face. A series of red lines descend diagonally from the upper left of this quarter to the middle-lower right. An organic dark blue/black shape accompanies the downward direction of the red lines. This dark blue shape is enveloped in a large light blue "halo", and the rest of this quarter is taken up by a grey background which is frequently interrupted by very small, dark black spots. The lower-middle of the canvas is interrupted by a thin silver frame, housing an even smaller canvas. This mini-piece is made up of shades of brown at the top and a kind of misty grey at the bottom. A streak of darker grey features prominently at the top of this canvas. The middle of the bottom half of this piece is taken up by a series of long, vertical bright yellow stripes. To the left of these stripes are two streaks of red, one longer than the other. The red and yellow is covered by a large white splatter of paint, exposing the texture of the yellow stripes beneath.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.

View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Object Details

Artist

Sam Gilliam, American, b. Tupelo, Mississippi, 1933–2022

Provenance

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, to 18 December 2018

Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Museum purchase, Gallery Fund), 2018

Exhibition History

None recorded

Credit Line

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Museum purchase, Gallery Fund), 2018

Date

1994

Accession Number

2018.037

Type

Painting

Medium

Acrylic on board

Dimensions

24 × 48 × 2 in. (61 × 121.9 × 5.1 cm)

See more items in

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection

School

African-American Abstraction/Washington Color School

Data Source

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Metadata Usage

Not determined

Link to Original Record

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/py26d0320c0-ac9b-4f8f-bc8e-6919298b1efd

Record ID

hmsg_2018.037