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Ellsworth Kelly's Chapel Design Gifted to Blanton Museum, Completing French Architectural Legacy

artist · 2026-04-22

On December 27, 2015, Ellsworth Kelly passed away at the age of 92 in Spencertown, New York. Earlier that same year, he contributed chapel designs from the 1980s to the Blanton Museum of Art located in Austin, Texas. This chapel is influenced by Kelly's experiences in France, especially a 1951 trip to Le Corbusier's Unité d’Habitation, which sparked his fascination with color in architecture. The design draws inspiration from Matisse's Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence, merging colored light from stained glass with monochromatic paintings. William Rubin noted in 1963 that Kelly's art transcended traditional categories, blending hedonism with discipline. After spending six years in France, he relocated to New York in 1954 and showcased his work at Matthew Marks gallery in May and June 2015.

Key facts

  • Ellsworth Kelly died on December 27, 2015, at age 92 in Spencertown, New York
  • He gifted chapel designs from the 1980s to the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas earlier in 2015
  • The Blanton Museum is working to realize Kelly's chapel project
  • Kelly visited Le Corbusier's Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles in 1951, inspiring his interest in color in architecture
  • His chapel design compares to Matisse's Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence on the Côte d’Azur
  • Kelly spent six years in France before moving to New York in 1954, influenced by Piet Mondrian, Jean Arp, and Constantin Brancusi
  • He exhibited in all four Matthew Marks gallery spaces in May and June 2015
  • William Rubin identified in 1963 that Kelly's work combined "a particularly American combination of hedonism and the puritanical"

Entities

Artists

  • Ellsworth Kelly
  • William Rubin
  • Piet Mondrian
  • Jean Arp
  • Constantin Brancusi
  • Ad Reinhardt
  • Blinky Palermo
  • Matisse
  • Le Corbusier

Institutions

  • Blanton Museum of Art
  • Matthew Marks gallery
  • artcritical

Locations

  • Spencertown
  • New York
  • United States
  • Austin
  • Texas
  • Paris
  • France
  • New York City
  • Marseilles
  • Côte d’Azur
  • Vence

Sources