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Untitled

Artist
Ellsworth Kelly, American, 1923–2015
Date
1982
Material
Weathering steel
possibly made in
Spencertown, New York, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Sculpture
Collection
Modern and Contemporary Art
Current Location
On View, Outdoor, South Portico Terrace
Dimensions
74 in. × 14 ft. 6 in. × 13 ft. 8 in. (188 × 442 × 416.6 cm)
weight: 5000 lb. (2268 kg)
Credit Line
Gift of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
Rights
© Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Object Number
108:2022
NOTES
Untitled, with its minimalist and elegant form, is a pivotal example of Ellsworth Kelly's large-scale sculpture. Measuring fourteen feet wide by over six feet high, the work is constructed from two curved planes that join in a central angular axis. The initial concept for the sculpture's shape originated in humble circumstances when Kelly cut and folded the paper top of a take-out coffee cup in 1959. Experienced in the round, the monumental structure interacts with its environment, creating a complex play of light and shadow.
by 1985/11 until at least 1986/01
Private collection, courtesy of Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, NY [1]

by 1999/10 - 2021/11/18
Ginny Williams (1927–2019) / The Ginny Williams Family Foundation, Denver, CO [2]

2021/11/18
Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Auction [3]

2021/11/18 - 2022/08/22
Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, purchased from Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Auction [4]

202208/22 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation [5]


Notes:
[1] The sculpture was loaned by a private collection to the 1985 Carnegie International from November 6, 1985 to January 5, 1986. 1985 Carnegie International. Pittsburgh: Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, 1985, p. 158.

[2] The sculpture was loaned by the Ginny Williams Family Foundation an exhibition at the White House Sculpture Garden that opened in October 1999. Twentieth Century American Sculpture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000, p. 118.

[3] The sculpture was lot 128 in a sale of Ginny Williams’ collection at Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Auction on November 11, 2018. [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/contemporary-art-evening-auction-3/untitled-5].

[4] Email dated February 3, 2022 from Jeanette Fausz to Simon Kelly and Hannah Klemm.

[5] Deed of Gift signed July 15, 2022 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, August 22, 2022.
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