Robert M. Wilson, visionary artist, theater and opera director, architect, set and lighting designer, visual artist, and founder of The Watermill Center, passed away on July 31, 2025, at the age of 83.
Wilson died peacefully in Water Mill after a brief but acute illness. He is survived by his sister, Suzanne, and his niece, Lori.
He was born on October 4, 1941, in Texas, studied architecture at Pratt Institute, and went on to become one of the world’s foremost avant-garde artists in theater — as creator, designer, and director — and in the visual arts. On the stage, Robert Wilson developed a unique style and method that juxtaposed conventional approaches to theater. His works have touched, inspired, and influenced generations of artists and audiences since the 1960s.
He founded and developed The Watermill Center as an interdisciplinary laboratory for the Arts and Humanities. His works for the stage, on paper, sculptures, and video portraits, as well as The Watermill Center, will endure as Robert Wilson’s artistic legacy.
There will be four public memorials for Robert Wilson held in locations that were especially meaningful to him. The first will be held in New York City on October 4 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. On November 23, a memorial will be held in Berlin at the Akademie der Künste – Hanseatenweg Studio. The Piccolo Teatro Strehler in Milan will host a memorial on December 1. In Paris, at Théâtre de la Ville, a memorial will take place on a date and time to be announced. For more information, visit robertwilson.com.