CLOSURE NOTICE
Planned Closure: Monday, January 6 – Monday, February 17, 2025 [subject to change].
Please check back here for updates to this schedule.
Necessary conservation work on Austin requires us to close the building to the public for approximately six weeks. This closure is planned for January 6 – February 17, 2025 [these dates are subject to change]. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
VISIT
Visits to Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin are included with general museum admission.
If you wish to purchase admission tickets online, you can do so on our online ticketing page.
To visit Austin, check in at the Check-In Desk, located inside our Smith Building (look for the yellow, upside-down “U” entrance). Check our main Before You Visit page for updates and closures.
HOURS
Visitors get free admission every Tuesday. Check-in required. Free admission every Tuesday is generously provided by the Moody Family Free Day Endowment.
RULES FOR VISITING “AUSTIN”
We ask visitors to observe the following rules upon entering Austin:
- Please do not touch the art, including the wood totem and the marble panels
- Non-flash photography is permitted
- No food or beverage is allowed
- No backpacks are permitted inside
- Please silence electronic devices
- Please respect the quiet nature of this space
ABOUT
In January 2015, the renowned American artist Ellsworth Kelly gifted to the Blanton the design concept for his most monumental work, a 2,715-square-foot stone building with luminous colored glass windows, a totemic wood sculpture, and fourteen black and white marble panels. Titled Austin, honoring the artist’s tradition of naming particular works for the places for which they are destined, the structure is the only building the artist designed, and will be his most lasting legacy. Envisioned by Kelly as a site for joy and contemplation, Austin is a cornerstone of the Blanton’s permanent collection and will enrich the lives of visitors from around the world.
May 31, 2023 declared Ellsworth Kelly Day!
The Mayor of the City of Austin, Kirk Watson, signed an official proclamation to mark the centennial of Ellsworth Kelly’s birth (5.31.23) as Ellsworth Kelly Day.
CREDITS
Gift of the artist and Jack Shear, with funding generously provided by Jeanne and Michael Klein, Judy and Charles Tate, the Scurlock Foundation, Suzanne Deal Booth and David G. Booth, and the Longhorn Network. Additional funding provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston,
Leslie and Jack S. Blanton, Jr., Elizabeth and Peter Wareing, Sally and Tom Dunning, the Lowe
Foundation, The Eugene McDermott Foundation, Stedman West Foundation, and the Walton
Family Foundation, with further support provided by Sarah and Ernest Butler, Buena Vista
Foundation, The Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder Foundation, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Janet and Wilson Allen, Judy and David Beck, Kelli and Eddy S. Blanton, Charles Butt, Mrs. Donald G. Fisher, Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman, Glenstone/Emily and Mitch Rales, Stephanie and David Goodman, Agnes Gund, Stacy and Joel Hock, Lora Reynolds and Quincy Lee, Helen and Chuck Schwab, Ellen and Steve Susman, and other donors.