Associated with the Washington Color School, Kenneth Noland is well known for his abstract concentric circle paintings, sometimes referred to as targets, which he began painting in 1958 to critical acclaim. Fall Blues is an example of one of Noland’s later circle works. Unlike the earlier circle paintings, which left the canvas bare around the edges, this painting displays circles that are completely surrounded by a broad field of dark blue paint, creating the appearance of a celestial body hovering in a dark autumn sky. Fall Blues, a major example of "post-painterly abstraction," helped to resolve a major gap in the IMA’s contemporary collection by exemplifying the transition between Abstract Expressionist and Minimalist painting.