American
b. 1923, Newburgh, New York —
d. 2015, Spencertown, New York
Lived and worked in Spencertown, New York

Ellsworth Kelly first rose to critical acclaim in the 1950s with his bright, multi-paneled and largely monochromatic canvases. One of the first artists to create irregularly shaped canvases, Kelly maintained a persistent focus on the dynamic relationships between shape, form and color.

Kelly’s works are intended for viewers to experience with instinctive, physical responses to the structure, color, and surrounding space. His works also encourage a kind of silent encounter, or bodily participation by the viewer with the artwork, presented usually as wall-mounted, anomalously shaped panels in bold and contrasting colors that are free of gestural brushstrokes or recognizable imagery.

Ellsworth Kelly had his first retrospective exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1973. His work has since been recognized in numerous retrospective exhibitions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in 1982, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Since then, solo exhibitions of Kelly's work have been mounted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. His works have earned international acclaim as well among both major museums and art collectors.