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​Passage: Ellsworth Kelly

The art world is mourning the loss the abstract artist who achieved fame for the geometric shapes and bold colors of his works
Passage: Ellsworth Kelly 01:13

It happened this past week: Artist Ellsworth Kelly died last Sunday at his home in upstate New York.

An abstract artist who served an apprenticeship in Paris after World War II, Kelly returned to this country in 1954.

After several lean years, he won fame for the geometric shapes and bold colors of his works.

ellsworthkellycurves-on-white-four-panels2011.jpg
"Curves on White (Four Panels)" by Ellsworth Kelly (2011). Matthew Marks Gallery

In an interview with our Martha Teichner in 2009, Kelly explained what it is that he and his fellow artists are all about:

"Perception and how things add up -- I mean, it's sort of like chaos. And we try to get something out of that chaos."

He was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama in 2013.

Artist Ellsworth Kelly was 92.


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