Merrill Wagner

Merrill Wagner
Born	1935 (age 89–90) Seattle, Washington
Alma mater	Sarah Lawrence College
Spouse	Robert Ryman ​ ​ (m. 1969;died 2019)​
Website	merrillwagner.com

Merrill Wagner (born 1935, Seattle) ^[1] is an American visual artist. In 1957 Wagner graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. ^[2] She settled in New York City ^[3] where she studied with Edwin Dickinson and attended the Art Students League of New York. ^[2] Wagner began her career working in the Minimalist style. Her later work incorporates representational painting executed on a variety of surfaces. ^{[4] [5]} Wagner is a member of American Abstract Artists. ^[6]

Wagner's work was included in the 1971 exhibition Twenty Six Contemporary Women Artists held at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum ^[7] and the 2022 exhibition 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone also at the Aldrich. ^[8] Her work is in the collection of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, ^[9] the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ^[10] the Smithsonian American Art Museum, ^[1] and the Whitney Museum of American Art. ^[11]

Wagner was the second wife of fellow artist Robert Ryman (1930–2019) whom she married in 1969, ^[12] and with whom she had two children. ^[13]

References

1. "Merrill Wagner". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
2. "Looking at the Land: Merrill Wagner Paintings". University of Rhode Island. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
3. "Merrill Wagner". New York Studio School. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
4. "Merrill Wagner". The Brooklyn Rail. July 30, 2024. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
5. Madsen, Kristian Vistrup (April 22, 2022). "Merrill Wagner". Artforum. Archived from the original on January 27, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
6. "Current Members". American Abstract Artists . Archived from the original on February 18, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
7. "Lucy Lippard - Twenty Six Contemporary Women Artists". Printed Matter. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
8. "52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone". The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. Archived from the original on March 30, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
9. "Merrill Wagner". The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
10. Wagner, Merrill (1988). "Untitled". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
11. "Merrill Wagner". Whitney Museum of American Art. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
12. "Now Representing The Estate of Robert Ryman and artist Merrill Wagner". David Zwirner. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
13. "The House of Ryman: A Family of Artists". Art & Object. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.