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Artists
Ellsworth Kelly

Jeremiah Garcia

Ellsworth Kelly

Painter
American·b. 1923
Known for:
hard-edge abstraction; shaped canvases
Education:
Pratt Institute; School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris

Ellsworth Kelly spent three years in Paris after World War II developing a practice of hard-edge abstraction derived from shadows on architecture, plant forms, and the relationships between colored shapes on the two-dimensional surface. His monochrome panels - each a single color occupying a shaped canvas - and his two-color compositions are among the most economical and formally resolved works in postwar American art. His final work, Austin (2018), a purpose-built colored glass chapel at the Blanton Museum, was completed the year after his death.

Ellsworth Kelly's Gear List(2)

Oil Paint
Oil Paint

Generic

Connection Source
SfmomaWebsite
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Connection note

Mixed his own colors meticulously (never straight from the tube) on cotton duck canvas; black oil paint could take a month to cure

Product description

Oil paint — pigment suspended in a drying oil, typically linseed — has been the dominant painting medium since the fifteenth century. It dries slowly, allowing extended blending, and produces a rich, luminous surface. Available from dozens of manufacturers at student through professional grades.

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Last updated March 20, 2026

Buy on Blick Art Materials ↗
Golden MSA Varnish
Golden MSA Varnish

Golden Artist Colors

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SfmomaWebsite
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Connection note

Tried Golden MSA varnishes for a period but abandoned them because the spray was sometimes visible and irreversible

Product description

A removable, mineral-spirit-based acrylic resin varnish made by Golden Artist Colors in New Berlin, New York. MSA forms a tougher, less permeable film than water-based acrylic varnishes and includes UV light stabilizers (UVLS) for sun protection. It can be applied to acrylic, oil, and alkyd paintings, and is available in gloss, satin, and matte finishes.

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