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)

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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

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DewPhillips · Feb 2026$412,800≈ £306,436≈ €349,682Sign up to see
Sun WomanRago Auctions · May 2026$409,600≈ £303,183≈ €350,026Sign up to see
Reef IIPhillips · May 2022$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).

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219 results · page 4 of 6

Manet, 1998
Print (other) · Paper
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Feb 16, 2020 · Lot 161
$4,063≈ £3,121≈ €3,750Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Plaster Nights, 1980
Acrylic · Canvas
80 x 92 in. (203.2 x 233.7 cm.)
Phillips · Nov 13, 2019 · Lot 197
$93,750≈ £73,054≈ €85,181Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $80,000–120,000View at Phillips ↗
A Series 4, 2015
Drawing · Paper
46 x 28 in. (116.8 x 71.1 cm.)
Phillips · Nov 13, 2019 · Lot 201
$83,750≈ £65,261≈ €76,095Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $25,000–35,000View at Phillips ↗
Untitled
Rago Auctions · Nov 8, 2019 · Lot 167
$4,063≈ £3,172≈ €3,682Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,200–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Untitled, c. 1970
Watercolor · Paper
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Oct 20, 2019 · Lot 194
$28,750≈ £22,112≈ €25,732Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Neruda's Fibers of Darkness, 1989
Mixed media
47 h x 42½ w x 6 d in (119 x 108 x 15 cm)
Wright · Oct 10, 2019 · Lot 137
$43,750≈ £35,761≈ €39,665Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $20,000–View at Wright ↗
Untitled, 1972
Acrylic · Paper
20 1/4 x 26 1/4 in. (51.4 x 66.7 cm.)
Phillips · Sep 24, 2019 · Lot 91
$68,750≈ £55,079≈ €62,483Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $15,000–20,000View at Phillips ↗
Untitled, 1978
Watercolor · Paper
19 x 14 x 5 in. (48.3 x 35.6 x 12.7 cm.)
Phillips · Sep 24, 2019 · Lot 92
$15,000≈ £12,017≈ €13,633Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–15,000View at Phillips ↗
Multiple 4, edition of 2, 1971
Watercolor · Paper
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · May 19, 2019 · Lot 78
$8,125≈ £6,375≈ €7,273Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $7,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Manet, 1998
Print (other) · Paper
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · May 19, 2019 · Lot 80
$3,200≈ £2,511≈ €2,864Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $3,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗

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.