New York, USA, 1923 - 2015

Ellsworth Kelly revolutionary emphasis on pure abstractive forms and innovative treatment of color reshaped the practice of painting in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His approach greatly influenced the nascence of Pop Art, Minimalism, Color Field precipitating the decline of expressionist energetic gestures and the adoption of spare lines and geometries, flatly painted in vivid color. A sharp observer of the natural world from a young age inspired by the play of light, space and color in the architecture around him, Ellsworth’s use of found compositions was a source of endless inspiration and lifelong artistic openness which he translated into visually powerful multi-panel paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and photographs. Ellsworth Kelly nurtured a special relationship with France. After serving as a soldier in the liberation of the country at the end of the Second World War, Kelly returned to live in France from 1948 to 1954, and returning to the country regularly throughout his life. He befriended Picasso, Calder, Brancusi, Arp and familiarised himself the works of Matisse, Monet and geometric abstraction which would influence his painting, particularly in his quest for balance and intensity of feeling.