Object Details
Artist
Sam Gilliam, born Tupelo, MS 1933-died Washington, DC 2022
Exhibition Label
Gilliam laid down thick paint color over color and then raked the surface to reveal the multiple hues beneath. Edges are crisp and three-dimensional. Arches intersect and reach out, articulating positive form and empty space before spiraling back to draw the viewer into the work’s industrial physicality. The Petition reflects a world created by man. Its materials – sheet metal, aluminum honeycomb, and industrial-weight paint – allowed no accidents in its construction.
African Amderican Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James F. Dicke Family
Copyright
© 1990, Sam Gilliam
Date
1990
Object number
2006.38A-G
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
mixed media
Dimensions
assembled: 96 x 60 x 32 in. (243.8 x 152.4 x 81.3 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Abstract
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2006.38A-G