Leaf I
1978
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph on Arches 88 wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 76.2 x 106.7 cm (30 x 42 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Benjamin B. Smith
Accession Number
1985.47.102
Art Historical Context
**Leaf I** by Ellsworth, created in 1978, is a striking lithograph on Arches 88 wove paper, measuring 30 x 42 inches. generous sheet size invites viewers to immerse themselves in the's bold simplicity, characteristic of Kelly's lifelong fascination with natural forms. Printed at a time when Kelly was at the height of his career, *Leaf I* belongs to his renowned series of leaf motifs, where everyday botanical shapes are transformed into elegant, abstracted silhouettes. Kelly, a pioneer of hard-edge abstraction and minimalism, strips away extraneous detail to emphasize contour, color, and negat...
About the Artist
Ellsworth Kelly
Ellsworth Kelly (1923–2015) was a pioneering American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose career reshaped abstract art through precise geometry, bold color, and innovative forms. Born in Newburgh, New York, as the second of three sons to an insurance executive father and schoolteacher mother, Kelly developed an early fascination with nature's patterns, sparked by his paternal grandmother's int...