Pat Steir, the acclaimed American painter and printmaker renowned for her monumental “Waterfall” series and her profound exploration of chance and gravity in art, passed away on March 25, 2026, in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 87. Born Iris Patricia Sukoneck, Steir carved a distinctive path in the art world over five decades, moving from early associations with conceptual art and minimalism to developing a unique abstract style that captivated audiences globally. Her passing marks the end of an era for an artist who consistently pushed the boundaries of painting as a conceptual medium.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, on April 10, 1938, Pat Steir's artistic journey began with formal education at the Pratt Institute in New York from 1956 to 1958, where she was influenced by figures like Richard Lindner and Philip Guston. She furthered her studies at Boston University College of Fine Arts from 1958 to 1960, before returning to Pratt to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1962. Her formative years exposed her to many influential conceptual and minimalist artists, fostering lifelong friendships and intellectual exchanges that would shape her practice.

Upon graduating, Steir quickly gained recognition in the burgeoning New York art scene. Her work was included in a group show at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta in 1962, and by 1964, she had her first one-person exhibition at the Terry Dintenfass Gallery in New York. During this period, she also worked as an illustrator and book designer, and later as an art director at Harper & Row publishing company, demonstrating her diverse creative talents.

Steir was a vital figure in the avant-garde and a champion for a more inclusive art world. She was a founding board member of Printed Matter, a renowned New York bookshop, and a founding board member of the landmark feminist journal Heresies, first published in 1977. Her involvement in these initiatives underscored her commitment to artistic advocacy and her role among the first wave of women artists to achieve prominence in a male-dominated field.

The 1980s marked a pivotal shift in Steir's career with the emergence of her iconic “Waterfall” paintings. Inspired by Eastern philosophy, Chinese ink painting, and the embrace of chance operations by figures like John Cage, Steir developed a rigorous pouring technique. She would pour, splash, and brush thinned paint onto upright canvases, allowing gravity and the fluidity of the medium to dictate the final composition, creating works that were both evocative and deeply conceptual.

Her innovative approach garnered substantial critical acclaim, leading to numerous major institutional exhibitions and retrospectives worldwide. Notable shows included “Pat Steir: The Brueghel Series (A Vanitas of Style)” organized by the Brooklyn Museum in 1984, and her work was featured at prestigious venues such as the Tate Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Her art is held in major public collections globally, solidifying her legacy as a significant contemporary artist.

Throughout her illustrious career, Pat Steir received numerous accolades for her contributions to art. She was awarded Individual Artist grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1973 and 1976, and a Guggenheim Fellowship for Fine Arts in 1982. Her alma maters recognized her achievements with an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Art from Pratt Institute in 1991 and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University in 2001. In 2016, she was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In recent years, Steir continued to create monumental works, including her "Silent Secret Waterfalls" at the Barnes Foundation and "Color Wheel" at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 2019. In 2021, the Long Museum in Shanghai presented the first major survey exhibition of her work in China, a testament to her enduring international appeal and influence. Pat Steir's profound engagement with the act of painting, her intellectual curiosity, and her fearless experimentation leave an indelible mark on the history of contemporary art.