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Box Cars Grand by Sam Gilliam
Photo CreditGSA\Michael Finn
Box Cars Grand
Photo CreditGSA\Michael Finn

Box Cars Grand

Year1980
Classification painting
Medium acrylic on cut and layered canvas
Dimensionsvarying
Credits Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration

  • Sam Gilliam created Box Cars Grand for the lobby of the federal building in Detroit.  This three-part painting combines colors, forms, and textures that reflect the tactile surfaces of the surrounding architecture and create a dynamic focal point for the building's primary public space.

    Throughout Gilliam's prolific seven-decade career that began in the 1960s, he continuously devised new forms, structures, and materials that expand the practice of painting.  Box Cars Grand is one of four artworks by Gilliam in the GSA Fine Arts Collection.