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We selected this object partially because of its depiction of the Pepin reliquary—an 8th-century container for holy relics kept in Ste-Foy of Conques in France. However, we also love its documentation of mutual adoration shared between artists. Reliquaries are often portable so their sacred contents can travel via processions and pilgrimages. This postcard is a portable container for reciprocal care that journeyed overseas. In 1949, Ellsworth Kelly invited fellow artist Ralph Coburn to sail to France; Coburn would live between France and Boston for the next seven years. Since this postcard from Kelly is from France to Boston, its geographic passage mirrors shared history between intimates. Kelly isn’t the only signatory—friends Alain Naudé and Delphine Seyrig added affectionate messages of their own too:
Remember those long, long, long playing records you were telling us they
had in the U.S.? Wow? When was it? 150 light years ago!.... Love, Delphine
Hope you are well and happy, Alain
When the sun shines in Paris it’s like butterflies in flowers. Love, Ells.
View: Front
Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Postcard sent by Ellsworth Kelly to Ralph Coburn; "Reliquaire de Pépin".
Signed by: Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923–2015)
1965
Medium/Technique
Lithograph
Dimensions
Horizontal: 10.5 x 14.6 cm (4 1/8 x 5 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Ralph Coburn
Accession Number2014.826
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPostcards
We selected this object partially because of its depiction of the Pepin reliquary—an 8th-century container for holy relics kept in Ste-Foy of Conques in France. However, we also love its documentation of mutual adoration shared between artists. Reliquaries are often portable so their sacred contents can travel via processions and pilgrimages. This postcard is a portable container for reciprocal care that journeyed overseas. In 1949, Ellsworth Kelly invited fellow artist Ralph Coburn to sail to France; Coburn would live between France and Boston for the next seven years. Since this postcard from Kelly is from France to Boston, its geographic passage mirrors shared history between intimates. Kelly isn’t the only signatory—friends Alain Naudé and Delphine Seyrig added affectionate messages of their own too:
Remember those long, long, long playing records you were telling us they
had in the U.S.? Wow? When was it? 150 light years ago!.... Love, Delphine
Hope you are well and happy, Alain
When the sun shines in Paris it’s like butterflies in flowers. Love, Ells.
DescriptionFront: Color image of the Reliquary of Pépin.
Back: divided. Used
Conques (Aveyron) basilique
Reliquaire de Pépin
(Photo Archives Photographiques)
Service Commercial Monuments Historiques
Grand Palais - Avenue Alexandre III - Paris
Back: divided. Used
Conques (Aveyron) basilique
Reliquaire de Pépin
(Photo Archives Photographiques)
Service Commercial Monuments Historiques
Grand Palais - Avenue Alexandre III - Paris
Signed
Ells
Marks
Canceled. Sent 05/24/1965; from Rome, Italy to Boston, MA.
InscriptionsYes
Provenance1953, sent by Ellsworth Kelly to Ralph Coburn; 2014, gift of Ralph Coburn to the MFA. (Accession date: May 28, 2014)