Ellsworth Kelly, Cyclamen I from the "Suite of Plant Lithographs", 1964-65 (published), Lithograph, 45/75, Museum purchase with funds provided by Wellesley College Friends of Art, 1980.117

Although better known for his abstract works, Ellsworth Kelly created plant drawings and prints throughout his career and considered them major components of his portfolio. The subject of each botanical work represents a serendipitous encounter with a plant that piqued the interest of the artist, who always had a green thumb. This lithograph recorded a particular moment that allowed him to connect with the natural world, his source of inspiration.

Kelly made original pencil studies of cyclamens at a greenhouse outside of Paris in December 1964. He then worked with draftsmen to enlarge and transfer the sketches to lithographs. He captured the cyclamen’s form by contour lines alone, yet the single flower still appears recognizable with a sense of volume and depth, an effect extremely difficult to achieve in the absence of any shadow or texture. This seemingly simple work could only result from mastery of fundamental drawing skills and years of experience.

Although rooted in the observational illustrations of botany, Kelly’s plant drawings and prints are not scientific in intent. Rather, they serve as the artist’s translation of the world into essential visual forms, a pursuit found throughout Kelly’s oeuvre.