Ellsworth Kelly was an American minimalist painter born in 1923 who was influenced by his childhood interest in bird watching and the paintings of John James Audubon. As a young man, he served in the military where he was exposed to camouflage, and after leaving the army he began creating abstract paintings composed of basic shapes and only a few colors, inspired by the windows he saw in art museums. Kelly pioneered a minimalist style using simple colors and forms, and is still creating art in New York today.

1. Ellsworth Kelly
Born 1923
American Minimalist Painter

2. As a young boy in New Jersey, Ellsworth’s
grandfather taught him to love bird watching.

3. He became
interested in the
artist John
James
Audubon who
was famous for
his bird
paintings.

4. Do you know
what kind of
bird this is?

5. Ellsworth noticed
that most birds
were only 2 or 3
colors.
How many colors
do you see?

6. This is our
state bird, the
cardinal.
How many
colors do you
see?

7. As a young
man he
served in the
military where
he saw lots of
camouflage.

8. These are paintings he created
after leaving the army.

9. Colors for a Large Wall, 1951

10. Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance II
1951

11. Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance VI
(1951)

12. “I noticed that the large windows
between the paintings in the
museum interested me more than
the art. From then on, painting as I
had known it was finished for me.”
--Ellsworth Kelly

13. Kelly said, "I decided
what I didn't want in a
painting, and just kept
throwing things out - like
marks and lines."
This idea of using just a
few colors or shapes to
make art is called
minimalism.

14. He began making paintings that looked
more like the windows than the art.

15. He was one of the first artists to make
paintings that had unusual shapes.

16. Here are 2 more of his “shaped”
paintings.
Do they remind you of birds?

17. Ellsworth
painted
many
paintings
that were
only 2 or 3
colors.

18. Ellsworth
Kelly lives in
New York
where he
still creates
art today.