Hauser & Wirth 

Mary Heilmann, the painter who warmed up abstraction, has died at 86

Hauser & Wirth and 303 Gallery confirmed that Mary Heilmann died on 14 August 2026 on Long Island, aged 86. Her studio told ArtNews the cause was complications from a fall. Born in San Francisco on 3 January 1940, she showed in the 1972, 1989 and 2008 Whitney Biennials and had her first New York museum survey at the New Museum in 2008, later at the Whitney (2015), Whitechapel Gallery (2016) and Kunstmuseum Bonn (2013). Dia Beacon showed her Starry Night series from September 2023 through October 2025; the Whitney’s site-specific Long Line closed in January 2026. She is survived by nieces Ann Jaime and Chris Heilmann and nephew John Heilmann Jr.

From Hauser & Wirth. Read the original