Though he disavowed the term "Minimal" as an apt description for his work, Donald Judd (1928—1994) is perhaps the artist most closely associated with American Minimalist art. His 1964 essay "Specific Objects" is considered a manifesto for Minimalist sculpture, advocating artists whose works inhabited the actual space of the viewer rather than the illusionistic space of traditional painting and sculpture. Best known for his iconic wall-mounted stacked box sculptures, Judd's work often involves simple geometric forms in repetitive arrangements, typically employing industrial materials such as plywood, aluminum, and Plexiglas.

In 1979, with assistance from the Dia Art Foundation, Judd purchased 340 acres of land in Marfa, Texas, on which he established the Chinati Foundation, an exhibition venue devoted to large-scale, permanent installations by Judd and several of his contemporaries, including John Chamberlain and Dan Flavin. Judd's work was included in many seminal exhibitions of the 1960s and 1970s, including Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum in 1966, often considered as the inauguration of Minimalist art. He has been the subject of numerous retrospectives, at venues including the Tate Modern (2004) and the Whitney Museum (1988).