The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Study for Red Green Blue

Study for Red Green Blue

1964
(American, 1923–2015)
America, 20th century
oil on cream wove paper
Sheet: 75.9 x 56.5 cm (29 7/8 x 22 1/4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. John B. Dempsey 1997.196
© Ellsworth Kelly
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This drawing is one of four works (including three oil sketches) made in preparation for the painting Red Green Blue.

Description

This drawing relates to a painting now at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. In the early 1960s, Ellsworth Kelly executed several paintings exploring this color scheme, most of which feature abstract shapes. Here, he developed a composition with inverted, reversed L-shapes around a "kernel" of red, an idea that he first explored in a multipanel painting from 1963. Kelly completed this drawing while he worked on his larger painting, and the rapidly executed sketch allowed him to explore different colors and shapes on a smaller scale.
  • 1964-1997
    Ellsworth Kelly [1923-2015], Spencertown, NY
    1997
    (Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1997-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Major European Porcelain Crucifix, Pre-Columbian Figure, and Other Works Added to CMA Collection,” December 3, 1997, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    "Drawings on Exhibition." Drawing 19, no. 4 (Summer 1998): 136-138. Mentioned: p. 137
    DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: pp. 278-279, p. 298; Reproduced: p. 279
    Kamps, Toby, et al. Ellsworth Kelly: Red Green Blue: Paintings and Studies, 1958-1965. Exh. Cat. San Diego: Museum of Contemporary Art, 2003. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 115, no. 51
  • Less is More: Minimal Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 16-October 20, 2013).
    Ellsworth Kelly: Red Green Blue, Paintings and Studies, 1958-1965. Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (organizer) (January 18-April 14, 2003); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (April 26-July 27, 2003); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (August 10-November 3, 2003).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
    American Drawings from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 19-July 12, 1998).
  • {{cite web|title=Study for Red Green Blue|url=false|author=Ellsworth Kelly|year=1964|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1997.196