Price databaseBrowseSell your artwork
Watchlist
Sam Gilliam, Solar Canopy

Sam Gilliam

American · 1933–2022

Sam Gilliam was an American abstract painter, sculptor, and arts educator. Born in Mississippi and raised in Kentucky, Gilliam spent his entire adult life in Washington, D.C.,… (Wikipedia)

Own a work by Sam Gilliam? Get a free auction estimate →

227lots offered2003–2026years recorded93%sold (204)$8.3kSign up free to seemedian price

1 work by Sam Gilliam with an auction history (offered more than once) →

Record prices

  1. Sam Gilliam, Dew, 1974-1975, collage, acrylic, dye pigments and oil glazes on canvas mounted to boardDewPhillips · $412,800≈ £306,436≈ €349,682Sign up to see
  2. Sam Gilliam, Sun Woman, 1970, acrylic on canvasSun WomanRago Auctions · $409,600≈ £303,183≈ €350,026Sign up to see
  3. Sam Gilliam, Reef II, 1976, acrylic and canvas collage on beveled edge canvasReef IIPhillips · $371,700≈ £299,227≈ €353,159Sign up to see

Sam Gilliam’s highest prices recorded at auction, ranked in US dollars at each sale-date exchange rate and shown in the currency of the sale (with the buyer’s premium where the house publishes it).

All filters
Longest side–Reset

219 results · page 2 of 6

Sign up free to see all prices. You’ve seen the free realized prices for this month. Artist, title, date, house, medium, size and estimates stay visible to everyone. Create a free account · Sign in
  1. Sam Gilliam, Tapestry Rouge, 1996, acrylic and oil on fabric
    Tapestry Rouge, 1996
    Acrylic · Other support
    44¼ h x 27⅝ w in (112 x 70 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 123
    $6,985≈ £5,225≈ €6,060Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $6,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  2. Sam Gilliam, Brush, 2000, acrylic on wood with piano hinges
    Brush, 2000
    Acrylic · Panel
    29½ h x 24 w in (75 x 61 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 158
    $11,880≈ £8,863≈ €10,494Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  3. Sam Gilliam, Needing Starlight II, 2008, acrylic on unstretched canvas
    Needing Starlight II, 2008
    Acrylic · Canvas
    approximately 53 x 56 x 13 in (134.6 x 142.2 x 33 cm)
    Bonhams · · Lot 116
    $102,100≈ £76,894≈ €91,283Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $80,000–120,000View at Bonhams ↗
  4. Sam Gilliam, Untitled, 1990, dyed handmade crumpled paper on board
    Untitled, 1990
    dyed handmade crumpled paper on board · Board
    19 7/8 x 15 7/8 in (50.3 x 40.2 cm)
    Bonhams · · Lot 117
    $8,000≈ £6,025≈ €7,152Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–15,000View at Bonhams ↗
  5. Sam Gilliam, Leonardo's Apartment, 2000, acrylic on birch with piano hinges
    Leonardo's Apartment, 2000
    Acrylic
    42 x 81 x 10 3/4 in (106.7 x 205.7 x 27.3 cm)
    Bonhams · · Lot 151
    $51,200≈ £38,560≈ €45,776Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $50,000–70,000View at Bonhams ↗
  6. Sam Gilliam, #5, 1995, acrylic and fabric collage on paper
    #5, 1995
    Acrylic · Paper
    23 3/4 x 12 3/4 in (60.4 x 32.2 cm)
    Bonhams · · Lot 152
    $8,500≈ £6,402≈ €7,599Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $12,000–18,000View at Bonhams ↗
  7. Sam Gilliam, Phelp's #4, 2015, monotype with hand-coloring and collage on handmade paper on canvas
    Phelp's #4, 2015
    Print (other) · Paper
    35¼ h x 54¼ w in (90 x 138 cm)
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 115
    $7,620≈ £5,764≈ €6,857Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $8,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  8. Sam Gilliam, Untitled (for Lincoln Center Festival), 2001, screenprint in colors
    Untitled (for Lincoln Center Festival), 2001
    Screenprint
    29 h x 36½ w in (74 x 93 cm)
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 308
    $1,905≈ £1,441≈ €1,714Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  9. Sam Gilliam, Beluga, 1979, mixed media
    Beluga, 1979
    Mixed media
    20 h x 30⅛ w in (51 x 77 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 294
    $6,985≈ £5,414≈ €6,475Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $6,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  10. Sam Gilliam, Untitled, c. 1970, ink, dye and acrylic on canvas
    Untitled, c. 1970
    Acrylic · Canvas
    15¼ h x 20 w in (39 x 51 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 133
    $15,240≈ £11,770≈ €14,000Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Also offered, result not published (8)

Lots by Sam Gilliam that were offered at auction where the house did not publish whether they sold. Not counted in any statistics.

Sam Gilliam paintings (83)Sam Gilliam acrylic paintings (51)Sam Gilliam mixed media (29)Sam Gilliam works on paper (49)Sam Gilliam watercolors (17)Sam Gilliam prints (64)Sam Gilliam etchings (5)Sam Gilliam lithographs (7)Sam Gilliam screenprints (24)Sam Gilliam woodcuts & linocuts (6)Sam Gilliam photographs (5)

Sam Gilliam signature

81 catalogued lots by Sam Gilliam record a signature line. The most common placement is lower right (47% of lots that state a placement). Most often: signed.

Placement

  • lower right20
  • on the reverse18
  • lower centre2
  • lower left2
  • on the stretcher1

Form

  • signed38
  • signed and dated36
  • signed in pencil7
  • Signed and dated 'Sam Gilliam 19' lower right — Untitled, Phillips, Jun 26, 2026
  • Signed and dated "Sam Gilliam; 2019" lower right — Untitled, Phillips, May 21, 2026
  • Signed, titled and dated ""Dew" Sam Gilliam 74-75" on the reverse — Dew, Phillips, Feb 28, 2026

Sam Gilliam signature: all forms and examples →

About Sam Gilliam

Sam Gilliam was an American abstract painter, sculptor, and arts educator. Born in Mississippi and raised in Kentucky, Gilliam spent his entire adult life in Washington, D.C., eventually being described as the "dean" of the city's arts community. Originally associated with the Washington Color School, a group of Washington-area artists that developed a form of abstract art from color field painting in the 1950s and 1960s, Gilliam moved beyond the group's core aesthetics of flat fields of color in the mid-60s by introducing both process and sculptural elements to his paintings.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related artists — American, born 1908–1958

More American artists of the same period