Studies for Blue Black Curve I & Red Curve IV, Ellsworth Kelly

Artwork by Ellsworth Kelly, , dated 1971

Studies for Blue Black Curve I & Red Curve IV, 1971
Graphite and ink on paper
10¾ × 14 inches; 27 × 36 cm
Signed in graphite (lower right verso): Kelly

This study for two paintings illustrates Kelly’s ability to create wholly unique artworks by slightly modifying a set of forms, such as a triangle paired with an incomplete curve, as seen in this 1971 drawing and in the painting Black Curve V from the following year. Kelly returned to this same combination of forms in several later works, including Black Relief with White (1994) and Black Relief with White (2011).

<p><em>Black Curve V</em>, 1972<br />Oil on canvas<br />Private collection</p> — *Black Curve V*, 1972
Oil on canvas
Private collection

<p><em>Black Relief with White</em>, 1994<br />Oil on canvas</p> — *Black Relief with White*, 1994
Oil on canvas

<p><em>Black Relief with White</em>, 2011<br />Oil on canvas, two joined panels<br />Private collection</p> — *Black Relief with White*, 2011
Oil on canvas, two joined panels
Private collection