Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Anne Truitt studied psychology at Bryn Mawr College before turning to art, eventually enrolling at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Washington, D.C. She gained significant critical attention in the early 1960s, particularly following her 1963 solo exhibition at the André Emmerich Gallery in New York, which established her as a key figure in the development of American minimalism.

Truitt is best known for her signature vertical sculptures—monolithic wooden structures painted in monochromatic or multi-colored fields. Her practice extended beyond sculpture to include the Arundel Paintings and extensive works on paper, all of which emphasize the interaction of color and light. Her work is noted for its meditative, human-scale approach to geometric abstraction.

Her legacy continues to receive international recognition, highlighted by the 2026 retrospective at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. This exhibition, the first comprehensive survey of her work in Europe, showcases over 100 pieces spanning four decades of her career, reinforcing her enduring influence on contemporary sculpture and painting.