Artist Sam Gilliam (American, 1933 - 2022)

Ship

Date1967

MediumAcrylic on canvas

Dimensions43 x 94 in. (109.2 x 238.8 cm) Framed Size: 46 x 97 in. (116.8 x 246.4 cm)

Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection

Object numberDCCAH1988.001

ClassificationsPaintings

Locations

Martin Luther King, Jr. Library (901 G St NW)

DescriptionSam Gilliam’s Ship was the first work of art to enter the District’s Art Bank Collection. Created in 1967, it represents a pivotal moment in Gilliam’s prodigious career. Having arrived in DC in 1962, Gilliam painted and stained canvases, inspired by both color and jazz music. In 1967, he began corresponding closely with curator Walter Hopps and artist Kenneth Noland; had his first solo exhibition at the Phillips Collection; and started experimenting with pouring paint, inviting chance into his work, folding canvases, and moving toward three-dimensionality in his practice. Ship, created in this critical year for the artist, represents Gilliam’s style just prior to his first draped and suspended canvases, for which he gained great renown. Gilliam remained an influential member of the Washington, DC, arts community until his death in June of 2022.