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 5 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, Notes
    Notes
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 684
    $2,375≈ £1,801≈ €2,038Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,800–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  2. Sam Gilliam, Notes 15
    Notes 15
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 685
    $2,125≈ £1,611≈ €1,823Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,800–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  3. Sam Gilliam, Butterfly Day #32, c. 1985, acrylic and ink on artist's handmade paper and wood in artist's frame
    Butterfly Day #32, c. 1985
    Acrylic · Paper
    44 h x 44 w in (112 x 112 cm)
    Wright · · Lot 124
    $6,875≈ £5,115≈ €5,837Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $7,000–View at Wright ↗
  4. Sam Gilliam, R + B, 2005, Color Silkscreen
    R + B, 2005
    Screenprint · ed. 17/42
    Sight - 19.75" high x 14" wide
    Clarke Auction Gallery · · Lot 110
    $750≈ £583≈ €657HammerSign up free to seeEst. $600–900View at Clarke Auction Gallery ↗
  5. Sam Gilliam, Manet, 1998, Color woodcut with hand-coloring and collage on handmade paper
    Manet, 1998
    Woodcut / linocut · Paper
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 183
    $5,000≈ £3,840≈ €4,473Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $4,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  6. Sam Gilliam, Tholos Revisited VIII, 1982, acrylic, aluminum and collage on canvas
    Tholos Revisited VIII, 1982
    Acrylic · Canvas
    33 x 42 in. (83.8 x 106.7 cm.)
    Phillips · · Lot 125
    $47,500≈ £36,637≈ €42,727Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $25,000–35,000View at Phillips ↗
  7. Sam Gilliam, Untitled, Abstract Painting
    Untitled
    Abstract Painting
    Palm Beach Modern Auctions · · Lot 138
    $68,750≈ £53,134≈ €62,722Price realizedSign up free to seeView at Palm Beach Modern Auctions ↗
  8. Sam Gilliam, Two Works
    Two Works
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 722
    $3,375≈ £2,608≈ €3,079Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  9. Sam Gilliam, Dance 72, Color serigraph
    Dance 72
    Screenprint · ed. AP
    32 in. x 19 in
    Sloans & Kenyon · · Lot 1073
    $650≈ £474≈ €587HammerSign up free to seeEst. $600–800View at Sloans & Kenyon ↗
  10. Sam Gilliam, Map II, 1994, polypropylene, acrylic and monoprint on an assemblage of collaged paper, with aluminum fasteners on wood panel, in artist's frame
    Map II, 1994
    Acrylic · Panel
    33 x 39 1/2 in. (83.8 x 100.3 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 189
    $10,000≈ £6,924≈ €8,791Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–15,000View at Phillips ↗
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