The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 15, 2025

5 a.m.

2004

Sam Gilliam

(American, 1933–2022)

Curlee Raven Holton

(American, b. 1951)
printer

Experimental Printmaking Institute, Lafayette College

America
Cut and sewn color relief prints on wove paper, fabric, and felt
Support: 71.1 x 51 cm (28 x 20 1/16 in.); Sheet: 57.1 x 39.4 cm (22 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.)
Gift of Joan Tomkins and William Busta 2023.148
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Sam Gilliam created this print while working at the Experimental Printmaking Institute, founded by Curlee Raven Holton, a former Clevelander.

Description

Beginning in the late 1970s, Sam Gilliam began to create works such as this print, in which he cut, arranged, and collaged geometric shapes. Their assembled compositions and varied patterns resembled quilts made by African American folk artists. Here, Gilliam used his own prints as the basis of a new and variable composition.
  • ?–2023
    William Busta and Joan Tomkins, Cleveland Heights, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    September 11, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=5 a.m.|url=false|author=Sam Gilliam, Curlee Raven Holton, Experimental Printmaking Institute, Lafayette College|year=2004|access-date=15 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.148