Study for Red Green Blue

1964

Study for Red Green Blue, 1964. Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923–2015). Oil on cream wove paper; sheet: 75.9 x 56.5 cm (29 7/8 x 22 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. John B. Dempsey 1997.196 © Ellsworth Kelly 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. This drawing is one of four works (including three oil sketches) made in preparation for the painting Red Green Blue.