Sam Gilliam: Drapes in tribute to the Apollo Theater

A muse and source of inspiration, Dr. Necia Harkless became a longtime friend of Sam Gilliam; they met during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They also shared a common background, having lived, studied, and worked at various times in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Harkness’s academic focus on music history and theory, as well as African-Nubian history, found fertile ground in Gilliam’s work. The inscription on this piece, “thanks for the inspiration,” written some 33 years after the March on Washington, speaks to their decades-long exchange and relationship. It also sheds light on the artwork as a gift from the artist to her many years later.

Symphony at the Apollo, Harlem by Sam Gilliam emerges from a pivotal moment in both American history and the artist’s own practice, belonging to one of the most innovative bodies of work in postwar American art: his groundbreaking drape paintings. Created from unstretched, painted canvas, these works move beyond the flat plane of the wall, instead suspended, looped, or anchored in sculptural configurations that shift with each installation.