| Summary: | Painter Sam Gilliam, Jr. was born on November 30, 1933 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Gilliam received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Louisville in 1955 and 1961, respectively. Part of the Washington Color School, bold colors and abstract expressionism defined Gilliam's early work, to which he added his own innovation by draping his canvases. By the mid-1970s, Gilliam added structural elements and geometric collages to his works. He has continued to utilize unique materials in his artwork. In 1975, he created Seahorses, his first outdoor piece for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gilliam committed to teaching the foundations of art, and worked in numerous facilities including the District of Columbia Public Schools, Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh and the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. He also received honorary degrees from a number of institutions, two National Endowment of the Arts Awards and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
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