Sam Gilliam

The gift of three prints by Sam Gilliam demonstrates some of the ways that the School and the Museum work together on various projects. Gilliam spoke during the Museum's 1997-98 lithography exhibition Working the Stone, itself a collaboration between a curator and a visiting artist at RlSD. Gilliam is known for the textural quality of his abstract paintings and is associated with the Washington Color Field School. His work, while informed by 20th-century modernism, also shows the influence of African American music -- jazz, blues, and gospel-and textiles.

Providence was created as a demonstration for Henry Ferreira's screen-printing class last spring. Gilliam collaborated with Louis Stovall, founder and master printer of The Workshop, Inc., Washington, D.C. Stovall utilized hand-cut stencils and 38 colors to express Gilliam's celebration of African American culture. This gift adds to the collection a piece from an important workshop specializing in screen-printing as a fine art.