Russian-born American painter generally identified with the Abstract Expressionist (Abstract Expressionism) school known as colour field. He was one of the first to use thinned paints in a staining technique to create colour compositions of a delicate, ethereal quality.

Olitski was born shortly after his father was executed by the Bolsheviks. In 1923 his family moved to the United States, and he grew up in New York City, where he studied at the National Academy of Design (1940–42). Olitski later attended the Zadkine School of Sculpture in Paris (1949), presenting his first one-man show in Paris in 1951. In the 1960s he gained prominence with his colour field (colour-field painting) paintings. Prince Patutsky Command (1965) typifies the opulent results Olitski achieved with his technique of dyeing and spraying. Large areas saturated with brilliant colour alternate with bare canvas to create an effect of light, airy mist. He later produced more monochromatic, textural works using thickened paint.