Graves, Morris Cole (1910- ), American painter, whose mystical works were influenced by East Asian philosophy, especially Zen Buddhism. Zen philosophy encourages the making of art as a way of approaching nature directly, avoiding theory or interpretation. Graves adopted certain characteristic elements of Chinese and Japanese art, including subject matter—birds, pine trees, waves—and techniques–the use of thin paper and ink drawing. His works, such as Blind Bird (1941, Museum of Modern Art, New York City), often contain delicate spidery lines indebted to Islamic calligraphy and to the work of American painter Mark Tobey, who was likewise inspired by Asian calligraphy. Graves’s later paintings were increasingly abstract, and while they retained their delicacy, the Asian influence became less overt.