TitleFrieze
Artist
Sam Gilliam
(American, 1933 - 2022)
Date1983
MediumAcrylic on nine canvases
DimensionsOverall: 25 × 376 in.
Other (Section 1): 9 13/16 × 74 in.
Other (Section 2): 9 13/16 × 74 in.
Other (section A): 10 1/4 × 48 3/8 in.
Other (section B): 15 1/2 × 59 in.
Other (section C): 25 × 64 in.
Other (section D): 25 × 15 3/4 in.
Other (section E): 25 × 15 3/4 in.
Other (section F): 48 1/4 × 25 1/4 in.
Other (section G): 15 3/4 × 59 in.
Other (section H): 48 1/4 × 10 1/4 in.
Other (section I): 25 × 15 3/4 in.
SignedSigned and dated on reverse.
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, January 17, 2001
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY, Gift of Lionel C. Epstein, 2001
Object number2001.1a-i
Label TextThe painting was commissioned in 1983 as a site-specific work for the lobby of the Euram Building at 21 Dupont Circle, in Washington, DC, by Hartman and Cox. It was taken down and put in storage about four years later when the lobby was remodeled. In 1997, after EFO Capital Management bought the building, the chairman, collector Lionel Epstein, found nine plastic-wrapped packages in the basement, which turned out to contain Sam Gilliam's piece. Conceived as a frieze to hang on the wall under the ceiling, like an architectural molding, "Frieze" consists of nine shaped canvases of different sizes and formats. When put together, the piece runs about 30 feet long horizontally. The rich, heavily textured surface is a collage of patches of canvas covered with thick acrylic paint. The painting continues around the edge of the canvas, which is wrapped around a beveled-edge stretcher. "Frieze" is a superb example of Sam Gilliam's complex technique, seductive surfaces, and powerful decorative effects.
