Anne Truitt (American, 1921–2004) was a major figure of the Minimalist movement. A sculptor of large-scale, hand-painted wooden columns, she differentiated herself from the movement with her use of color and dedication to the relationship between meaning and form. Each of her pieces she meticulously primed and coated with up to 40 coats of acrylic paint, and carefully sanded to remove any trace of the brush or the artist’s hand. Her work was championed by critics Clement Greenberg and Michael Fried.

Born in Baltimore, MD and raised on the shore, Truitt cited nature and the architectural environment of her childhood as inspirations. She originally pursued clinical psychology and writing, but began sculpting in her 20s. Ad Reinhardt and Barnett Newman were influential to her work, leading to the mature phase of her abstract and Minimalist sculpture. She also maintained a rich drawing practice, notably producing a large body of works on paper while living in Japan from 1964 to 1967, which was the subject of a recent exhibition at Matthew Marks Gallery in New York. Truitt is also remembered for her writing, publishing three journals titled Daybook, Turn, and Prospect.

Truitt has been the focus of several solo exhibitions, including at the Corcoran Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art, Hirshhorn Museum, and the Delaware Art Museum. She was also the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and five honorary doctorates. Her work is collected in many major American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, and the MoMA, among others.