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What are some interesting facts about Ellsworth Kelly?
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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.
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 ExpertAugust 15, 2024
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Shop for Ellsworth Kelly Art on 1stDibs
original lithograph
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1982 for the art revue Derriere le Miroir (issue number 250, dedicated in homage to Aime and Marguerite Maeght) and published in Paris by the ...
Category
1980s Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Red Blue (Axsom 2), X + X, Ten Works by Ten Painters, Ellsworth Kelly
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Silkscreen on Mohawk Superfine Bristol paper. Inscription: unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good condition. Notes: From the folio, X + X, Ten Works by Ten Painters, 1964. Publishe...
Category
1960s Minimalist Landscape Prints
Materials
Screen
$9,996 Sale Price
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2 Unique Museum Works: Drawing of Cyclamen III, and collage for Conques, Signed
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in New York, NY
Ellsworth Kelly
Drawing of Cyclamen III, and collage for Conques (Untitled), exhibited at the Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, 1987
Graphite drawing, and mixed media collag...
Category
1980s Minimalist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Graphite, Board
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 Still-life Prints
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 Abstract Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Pear III
By Ellsworth Kelly
Located in New York, NY
Sheet size: 35 7/16 x 24 3/4 inches
Frame size: 43 3/4 x 32 3/4 inches
Printer: Imprimerie Arte, Paris
Publisher: Maeght Éditeur, Paris
Edition size: 75, plus proofs
Catalogue Raison...
Category
1960s Minimalist Still-life Prints
Materials
Lithograph
