Richard Pousette-Dart (1916-1992) was a groundbreaking Abstract Expressionist who gained recognition for his painting, drawing, photography, and sculpture, particularly by his expressive use of gesture, form, and color. As one of the youngest members of the Abstract Expressionist movement, Pousette-Dart's early work demonstrated his interest in Cubism and African and Native American art. Unlike action painting, Pousette-Dart pursued his unique aesthetic, aiming to convey universal significance through nonobjective means. Throughout his career, Pousette-Dart developed a distinctive visual language featuring biomorphic and totemic forms, which he explored through various painterly techniques. Pousette-Dart was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota but grew up in Valhalla, New York. Despite lacking formal art training, he spent significant time observing his father, an artist, at work. He briefly attended Bard College before moving to New York to pursue his artistic career.

Pousette-Dart’s work has been showcased in solo exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. More recent exhibitions include those at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Drawing Center in New York, Kettle’s Yard at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, Maine.