Sam Middleton (April 2, 1927 – July 19, 2015) was a mixed-media artist from New York City. He travelled all over the world with the US Merchant Marine, lived in Mexico and Sweden and eventually settled down in the Netherlands where he "was part of the considerable contingency of expatriate African American artists". Settling in Holland in 1961, he established himself as one of The Netherlands' premier artists. His work is part of the Whitney Museum permanent collection, which included him in its 1962 exhibition 40 Artists Under 40 and was included in the 2015 inaugural exhibition for the museum's new building on the High Line.
Middleton was born in New York City and grew up in the Harlem neighborhood of the city. Known for his personal style, Middleton liked to use abstract expressionism in his work, basing his color, lines, and compositions around sound and harmony. Middleton specialized in working with collage.
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Middleton struggled as an artist in the United States, due to his race and status, but continued to refine his technique, studying with other Black creatives like Beauford Delaney. In 1956, Middleton won a scholarship to the Institute Allende in San Miguel Allende, Mexico, and studied in Mexico for the next several years. In 1959, after significantly advancing his technical skill and having the opportunity to showcase his art, Middleton travelled to Europe to paint, living in Spain, Sweden, France, and Denmark before settling in the Netherlands in 1961. After moving to the Netherlands, Middleton returned to Harlem periodically, but never again held residence in America, despite calls from fellow African Americans to return. Middleton found greater creative freedom in Holland while holding onto his jazz influences.
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