Ellsworth Kelly's artistic journey in the 1940s laid the foundation for his later work, marking a period of exploration and development. During this decade, Kelly's art was significantly influenced by his experiences in the military and his education, both of which played pivotal roles in shaping his unique artistic language. Kelly's early career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the United States Army. His involvement with the Ghost Army, a unit tasked with creating deceptive maneuvers and camouflages, was a unique experience that influenced his understanding of form, shape, and the visual deception of space​ (The Art Story)​. This period exposed him to the possibilities of using abstract forms for strategic purposes, planting seeds for his later work in abstraction. After his military service, Kelly utilized the G.I. Bill to further his studies in art, attending the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This period allowed him to engage more deeply with traditional art forms, initially focusing on figurative and classical subjects. Despite the focus on more conventional art during this time, Kelly's later shift towards abstraction can be traced back to the foundational skills and principles he learned in the 1940s​ (The Art Story)​. Kelly's move to Paris in 1948 was another significant milestone during this decade. Paris, with its rich artistic culture and history, offered Kelly exposure to a wide range of artistic movements and works. During this time, he absorbed the lessons of Byzantine icons, Romanesque frescoes, and the works of artists such as Jean Arp and Henri Matisse. These influences helped him develop his own artistic language, which gradually moved towards abstraction. Kelly's interest in the random and the accidental, as seen in Surrealist automatic drawing and the use of chance, further influenced his departure from traditional representation​ (The Museum of Modern Art)​. The 1940s were thus a period of significant growth and transformation for Kelly. His experiences in the military, his formal art education, and his exposure to European art and culture all contributed to his evolving artistic vision. While Kelly's work from this decade was largely figurative and classical, the lessons he learned and the influences he absorbed during this time were critical in shaping the abstract, minimalist style for which he would become renowned.