Research, interpretation and rights

This independent project asks what becomes visible when Ellsworth Kelly's paintings are compared by color, support shape, year and scale. Grouping blue works can reveal a family of relationships; it can also hide differences in pigment, surface, light and installation. Shape and color labels are research judgments whose sources and uncertainty matter.

The atlas is an incomplete, source-linked inventory, not an authenticated catalogue raisonné. Repeated titles do not prove that records describe the same object. Historical collection reports, disputed dates and missing details remain visible. The scholars and institutions cited here have not endorsed the project.

The SVGs are approximate visual studies. A simplified outline or screen color cannot replace a painting's surface or the experience of its installation. Some studies show a documented projected or installation view. Estimated sizes support comparison and are kept separate from recorded measurements.

The original software is offered under MIT, and the project’s original research contribution under CC BY 4.0. Both grants exclude the artwork studies, underlying art and third-party material. The project has not established permission or an individual fair-use determination for every SVG; public availability is not a license to reuse the artworks. Source photographs, scans and full-page OCR are excluded.

Criticism and research can qualify as fair use under U.S. law, but the result depends on the actual use and all relevant factors. A research label or vector redraw does not guarantee protection. The Copyright Office's explanation describes the framework. The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation lists rights@ekelly.org for rights and reproductions; this project has not obtained permission through that contact.

For further reading, start with Yve-Alain Bois's catalogue raisonné and Getty interview, Jean-Pierre Criqui's Kelly windows essay, and MoMA's centennial presentation. The repository's RIGHTS.md and docs/ pages explain the license boundary, rights review and scholarly references in more detail.