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Ellsworth Kelly Art

American, 1923-2015

Ellsworth Kelly was one of the key figures in postwar American art, exercising major influence on the fields of Pop art, minimalism, Color-Field and hard-edge painting. Widely known for his brightly colored geometric compositions, he was among the first artists, alongside his contemporary Frank Stella, to use irregularly shaped canvases. Although highly abstract, Kelly’s paintings and prints are precise expressions in color and form of his sensory experience of the world.

Kelly's works, both two- and three-dimensional, are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and displayed at such sites as the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Kelly grew up in the town of Newburgh, New York, near the Oradell Reservoir. He was an avid birder as a child and loved the colorful illustrations of naturalist John James Audubon. Encouraged to study art by a high school teacher, he enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, remaining there until 1943, when he was inducted into the army. During World War II, he served along with scores of other artists, in a unit known as the Ghost Army, where he learned the elements of camouflage while creating ersatz trucks and tanks intended to mislead Axis forces.

When the war was over, Kelly took advantage of the G.I. Bill to study painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, drawing inspiration from the museum's collections, and, later, at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, in Paris. While in France, he immersed himself in the varied artistic movements and styles represented there and befriended Americans avant-gardists, such as composer John Cage and choreographer Merce Cunningham, as well as the German-French Surrealist Jean Arp and Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși.

Upon his return to the United States, in 1954, he found himself at odds with the dominant style of the period, Abstract Expressionism, which favored a dynamic and energetic application of paint in a loose manner. Like Stella, Kelly was interested in formal precision and explorations of color. Following an exhibition of his work at the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1956, Kelly’s work was included in the "Young America 1957” show at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

During the 1960s, Kelly played with color and form to tease out and celebrate the tension between a painting’s subject and its background. In one of his most famous works, 1963's Red Blue Green, for example, two shapes, one red, one blue, both contrast and resonate with a green background that extends to the edge of the canvas on both sides, appearing at moments to be the work’s primary shape. To explore this relationship between form and ground further, Kelly began using nontraditional, shaped canvases, as in the monochromatic 1966 Yellow Piece, from, whose two curved corners draws the eye to the wall behind it, as though the gallery wall itself were part of the composition. A lithograph from the same period, Blue and Orange consists of two shapes in the title’s complementary colors facing off against one another with a tension that makes them appear almost animated.

Kelly made drawings and prints throughout his career, using plants and flowers as his primary source of inspiration. Like his paintings, his drawings tend to be relatively flat in perspective, but they are rarely abstract. A 1993 drawing of an oak leaf is clearly representational, but rendered with very minimal color and line. In the mid-1960s, he produced the series “Suite of Twenty-Seven Lithographs” with the Paris-based Maeght Éditeur.

Later, collaborating with Gemini G.E.L., he created very large-scale works, such as 1988’s Purple/Red/Gray/Orange, which is 18 feet long and might be one of the biggest lithographs ever made. Kelly produced 140 sculptures, including the aluminum White Curves, created for the Fondation Beyeler, in Riehen, Switzerland, in 2002. In his three-dimensional works, as in his paintings, Kelly used form, color and light to play with perceptions of surface and depth, inviting viewers to look closely and see the world in a new way.

Find original Ellsworth Kelly art on 1stDibs.

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Artist: Ellsworth Kelly
Dealer: Graves International Art
Lotus /// Ellsworth Kelly Minimalism Botanical Flower Contemporary Lithograph
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: "Lotus" Portfolio: Derrière Le Miroir: Hommage à Aimé et Marguerite Maeght (No. 250) *Issued unsigned Year: 1982 Medium: Original Lithograph on smooth wove paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Imprimerie Moderne du Lion, Paris, France Publisher: Maeght Editeur, Paris, France Reference: "The Prints of Ellsworth Kelly - A Catalogue Raisonné: 1949-1985" - Axsom No. Ic, page 179 Sheet size: 15" x 11" Condition: In excellent condition Rare Notes: Produced for Kelly's collaboration with the August, 1982 No. 250 "Derrière Le Miroir: Hommage à Aimé et Marguerite Maeght" portfolio. Text on verso as issued. Kelly produced the drawing for "Lotus" in Spencertown, New York, and sent the transfer-paper study to Paris for proofing. It was included in the final memorial issue of 'Derriere Le Miroir' with prints by Eduardo Chillida, Takis, Pierre Alechinsky, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Shusaku, Arakawa, and Saul Steinberg, to name only a few of the 24 artists who provided original graphic work for this issue. "Lotus" was based on the ink drawing "Lotus" (EK No. P74.65). In October 1945, the French art dealer Aimé Maeght opens his art gallery at 13 Rue de Téhéran in Paris. His beginning coincides with the end of Second World War and the return of a number of exiled artists back to France. The magazine Derriere Le Miroir was created in October 1946 and published without interruption until 1982. Maeght's ambition in establishing his print shop and his publication magazine Derriere Le Miroir was to make available to a broader audience less expensive printed imagery by the artists of his time, many whom were represented by his Paris gallery. Its original articles and illustrations (mainly original color lithographs by the gallery artists) were famous at the time. The magazine covered only the artists exhibited by Maeght gallery either through personal or group exhibitions. Among them are (in alphabetical order): Henri-Georges Adam, Pierre Alechinsky, Bacon, Jean Bazaine, Georges Braque, Pol Bury, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Roger Chastel...
Category

1980s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Fondation Maeght (Red, Yellow, Blue) /// Abstract Geometric Ellsworth Kelly
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: (after) Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: "Fondation Maeght (Red, Yellow, Blue)" *Issued unsigned Year: 2005 Medium: Original Litho...
Category

Early 2000s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Blue/Red-Orange /// Contemporary Abstract Geometric Minimalism Ellsworth Kelly
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: “Blue/Red-Orange” *Signed by Kelly in pencil lower right Year: 1972 Medium: Original Lithograph on Special Arjomari paper Limited...
Category

1970s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph, Plexiglass

Galerie Maeght /// Abstract Geometric Ellsworth Kelly Minimalism Modern Paris
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: "Galerie Maeght" Year: 1958 Medium: Original Lithograph, Exhibition Poster on light wove paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: ...
Category

1950s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Galerie Maeght /// Abstract Geometric Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Colorfield Art
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: "Galerie Maeght" Year: 1964 Medium: Original Lithograph, Exhibition Poster on light wove paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer...
Category

1960s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Susan Sheehan Gallery (Ellsworth Kelly Posters 1951-2001) Poster (Signed) Color
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: "Susan Sheehan Gallery (Ellsworth Kelly Posters 1951-2001)" *Signed by Kelly in pencil lowe...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Geometric Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

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Previously Available Items
Lotus
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: "Lotus" Portfolio: Derrière Le Miroir: Hommage à Aimé et Marguerite Maeght (No. 250) *Issued unsigned Year: 1982 Medium: Origina...
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Galerie Maeght (Orange/Green)
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original lithograph exhibition poster by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) titled "Galerie Maeght", 1964. Printed and published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, on the occasion...
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1960s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

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L'Art vivant aux Etats-Unis, Fondation Maeght
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original two color lithograph exhibition poster on wove paper by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) titled “L'Art vivant aux Etats-Unis, Fondation Maeght...
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1970s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

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Four Lithographs from DLM
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Four original handmade lithographs by Ellsworth Kelly produced in 1958 and one from 1964.
Category

1950s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Five Lithographs from DLM
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
A group of five original lithographs by American artist Ellsworth Kelly. All in excellent condition.
Category

1950s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Orange/Green
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: “Orange/Green” Portfolio: Series of Ten Lithographs *Signed by Kelly in pencil lower right Year: 1970 Medium: Original Lithograph on Special Arjomari paper Limited edition: 75/75. (There were also 9 artist's proofs) Printer: Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, CA Publisher: Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, CA Reference: "The Prints of Ellsworth Kelly: A Catalogue Raisonne" - Axsom No. 64, page 72; Waldman 1971, No. 65, page 273 Framing: The sheet is floated, framed in a silver contemporary metal bolted frame Framed size: 43.88” x 32.38” Sheet size: 41.5” x 30.25” Condition: Some light skinning and minor wear to edges. Some cosmetic wear to framing and plexiglass. In otherwise excellent condition with strong colors and clean paper Notes: Provenance: private collection - Los Angeles, CA; private collection - Chicago, IL. Numbered by Kelly in pencil lower left. Comes from Kelly's 1970 "Series of Ten Lithographs" portfolio of 10 lithographs. Printed in 2 runs from 2 plates: 1 orange and 2 green. Collaboration and supervision: Kenneth Tyler. Proofing and processing: Kenneth Tyler, George Page, Ron McPherson, Stuart Henderson. Edition printing: George Page, assisted by Ron Adams...
Category

1970s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Derrière Le Miroir No. 110 (page 4)
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original lithograph on smooth wove paper by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) "Derrière Le Miroir No. 110 (page 4)", 1958. Made for Kelly's first ...
Category

1950s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Derrière le Miroir No. 149 (front cover) /// Abstract Geometric Ellsworth Kelly
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) Title: "Untitled (front cover)" Portfolio: Derrière le Miroir (No. 149) *Issued unsigned Year: 1964 Medium: Original Lithograph on smoo...
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1960s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

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Dark Blue with Red (VI.7)
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original signed lithograph on Rives BFK wove paper by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) titled "Dark Blue with Red (VI.7)", 1964. Limited edition: 40/75. (There were als...
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1960s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

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Derrière Le Miroir No. 110 (front cover)
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original lithograph on smooth wove paper by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) titled "Derrière Le Miroir No. 110 (front cover)", 1958. Made for Kelly's first ever colla...
Category

1950s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph

Ellsworth Kelly: Sculpture, Whitney Museum of American Art
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
A large original offset-lithograph, exhibition poster on wove paper by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) titled "Ellsworth Kelly: Sculpture, Whitney Museum of American Art"...
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1980s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Derrière Le Miroir No. 149 (back cover)
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original lithograph on smooth wove paper by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) "Derrière Le Miroir No. 149 (back cover)", 1964. The image was derived from two collages p...
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1960s Minimalist Ellsworth Kelly Art

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Lithograph

Ellsworth Kelly art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Ellsworth Kelly art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of green, yellow, blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ellsworth Kelly in lithograph, offset print, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the minimalist style. Not every interior allows for large Ellsworth Kelly art, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ben Cope, Richard Serra, and Richard Tuttle. Ellsworth Kelly art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $200 and tops out at $65,000, while the average work can sell for $13,500.

Artists Similar to Ellsworth Kelly

Questions About Ellsworth Kelly Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Ellsworth Kelly is known for being an influential American artist. His work helped popularize hard-edge painting, the practice of creating sharp, bold transitions between colors. Some of his most famous paintings include Colors for a Large Wall, Four Panels, Red Blue Green and Yellow Piece. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Ellsworth Kelly art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertSeptember 16, 2024
    Ellsworth Kelly worked in Spencertown, New York. He was one of the key figures in postwar American art, exercising a major influence on the fields of Pop art, minimalism, Color Field and hard-edge painting. Widely known for his brightly colored geometric compositions, he was among the first artists to use irregularly shaped canvases. Although highly abstract, Kelly’s paintings and prints are precise expressions in color and form of his sensory experience of the world. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of Ellsworth Kelly art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertNovember 4, 2024
    Ellsworth Kelly used a variety of materials over the course of his career. The American artist produced paintings with oil paints on canvas and two-dimensional works with a sponge roller and oil-based ink. Kelly was also a sculptor, experimenting with steel, aluminum and bronze as well as birch, elm, mahogany, maple and oak woods. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of Ellsworth Kelly art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Ellsworth Kelly made many kinds of art. He produced paintings, sculptures and prints, working primarily in the styles of Minimalism and Color Field painting. Some of his most famous works include Colors for a Large Wall, Red Blue Green, Four Panels and Yellow Piece. Find a collection of Ellsworth Kelly art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertAugust 15, 2024
    Here are some interesting facts about Ellsworth Kelly. As a child growing up in Newburgh, New York, near the Oradell Reservoir, he was an avid birder and loved the colorful illustrations of naturalist John James Audubon. A high school teacher encouraged him to study art, so he enrolled at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, studying there until 1943, when he enlisted in the army. During World War II, he served, along with scores of other artists, in a unit known as the Ghost Army, where he learned the elements of camouflage while creating fake trucks and tanks intended to mislead Axis forces.

    When the war was over, Kelly took advantage of the G.I. Bill to study painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, drawing inspiration from the museum's collections. He later studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

    Kelly went on to become one of the key figures in postwar American art, particularly influencing Pop art, minimalism, color field and hard edge painting. Widely known for his brightly colored geometric compositions, he was among the first artists, alongside his contemporary Frank Stella, to use irregularly shaped canvases. Although highly abstract, Kelly’s paintings and prints are precise expressions in color and form of his sensory experience of the world. Explore a collection of Ellsworth Kelly art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertNovember 4, 2024
    The meaning of Yellow Piece by Ellsworth Kelly is open to interpretation, as the artist never explained its significance. Although highly abstract, Kelly’s paintings and prints are precise expressions in color and form of his sensory experience of the world. Yellow Piece marks the first time the American painter used shaped canvas for his work. It is a fine example of Minimalism, an art movement focused on reducing art to its most basic shapes. In Yellow Piece, the color yellow, evocative of warmth, appears on its own. On 1stDibs, find a diverse assortment of Ellsworth Kelly art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertOctober 30, 2024
    Ellsworth Kelly is famous for his work as an artist. He was one of the key figures in postwar American art, exercising a major influence on Pop art, Minimalism, color field painting and hard-edge painting. Widely known for his brightly colored geometric compositions, he was among the first artists, alongside his contemporary Frank Stella, to use irregularly shaped canvases. Although highly abstract, Kelly’s paintings and prints are precise expressions in color and form of his sensory experience of the world. Some of his most famous pieces include Red Blue Green, Colors for a Large Wall, Green Curve and Cité. On 1stDibs, shop an assortment of Ellsworth Kelly art.

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