Sam Gilliam, groundbreaking abstract artist, dies at 88

Sam Gilliam, the groundbreaking abstract artist known for his work with draped canvas, died Saturday at 88, the galleries that represented him confirmed in a joint statement on Monday. 

"Sam Gilliam was one of the giants of Modernism. He was a great friend and great artist who was able to convey the shared torments and triumphs of life through the universal language of abstraction," Arne Glimcher, the owner of one of the galleries that represented Gilliam, said in the statement. 

Gilliam was born in 1933, in Tupelo, Mississippi, the statement said. He made his debut in the art world in Washington, D.C., as a leader in the Washington Color School. In the 1960s, he began creating his signature work: stained, draped canvases that were suspended from ceilings and walls.