Pat Steir
Born Newark, NJ - 1940
Pat Steir is a celebrated artist known for her mesmerizing Waterfall paintings—works that combine her exploration of color, chance, and gravity into flowing, meditative canvases. After studying art and philosophy at Boston University and earning her BFA from the Pratt Institute, Steir initially connected with conceptual art and minimalism, but her career soon took a distinctive path. Since the 1980s, her signature approach of dripping and throwing paint has captured attention for its originality and depth.
What makes Steir’s work so captivating is her unique process. Inspired by Eastern philosophies like Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and Chinese Shan Shui (山水 - mountain water) paintings, she allows paint to flow freely across her canvases, letting gravity guide each drip and cascade.
Working from a ladder or lift, she pours and flings paint down unstretched canvas, creating compositions that feel like natural landscapes without depicting them directly. This approach has often drawn comparisons to Jackson Pollock’s “drip” style, but where Pollock painted horizontally, Steir’s work is all about the vertical movement—a nod to waterfalls and flowing water in motion.
"I don't touch the canvas. I pour the paint. They're all poured. So that's my – one of my rules. You don't touch the canvas. You pour or throw paint. You put each color on separately. Don't blend colors. So I have my set of rules that I stick to, limitations more than rules."
领英推荐
Steir’s recent exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum, Pat Steir: Color Wheel, featured a stunning 400-foot mural that wrapped around the museum’s circular gallery, creating an immersive experience in color and light. This installation highlights her ability to transform spaces and draw viewers into a quiet, meditative engagement with color, proving her continued innovation and status as a contemporary art icon.
Pat Steir had a long-standing collaboration with master printmaker Jo Watanabe, through which she creates prints that are uniquely her own; after each piece is printed, Steir adds individual touches by drawing and painting directly onto the surface, making each print a one-of-a-kind work rather than a traditional edition. We are lucky to have work from three of Steir’s screen printed editions in the Gallery at Saks collection.
Learn more about her printmaking process by watching the video below:
Pat Steir’s pieces can be found in major collections worldwide, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Met; the Whitney; and the Tate.
Note on Limited Edition Prints:
The Gallery at Saks collection has a unique focus on printmaking and limited edition artworks. Limited editions offer art lovers an accessible entry into collecting fine art, providing exclusive, numbered pieces crafted with the artist's vision and using high-quality materials. These prints are valuable collectibles that bring the joy of fine art into any space. Curious about printmaking, limited editions, or the materials used in the artworks we carry? I’m here to help! Feel free to reach out with any questions
Don’t forget, you can browse the Gallery at Saks app using the link below to explore more of our extensive collection—over 4,000 pieces beyond what’s in-store!