Blue on White 1961

Ellsworth Kelly made this painting, Blue on White, using paint on canvas. Kelly began working in the late 1940s, but his mature style emerged in the mid-1950s. At that time, New York was the capital of the art world, and Kelly found himself in dialogue with a generation of painters who were exploring abstraction. Rather than expressive brushstrokes, Kelly reduced his paintings to flat areas of pure color, emphasizing the physicality of the canvas. It is important to remember the context in which Kelly was working. During the Cold War, many American artists sought to create a universal language of form, one free from the constraints of national identity and accessible to all. By understanding the politics of the time, and the institutional setting in which the artist was working, we can begin to see this painting as more than just a simple abstraction. Art historians use exhibition records and other archival materials to understand the conditions in which art is made. It is through this kind of research that we can appreciate the deeper meanings of works like this one.