John Melville Kelly

Born in Oakland, CA on Nov. 2, 1879. Kelly began his art studies locally at the Mark Hopkins Institute and Partington Art School. By 1903 he was a staff artist for the San Francisco Examiner, a position he held for 14 years. He further studied under Spencer Macky and Frank Van Sloun at the CSFA. He was active in the San Francisco Bay area until 1923 when he settled in Honolulu. There he continued as head of the art department for the Star Bulletin. Kelly died in Honolulu on Sept. 9, 1962. His etchings are mostly Polynesian subjects. Member: Calif. Society of Etchers; Honolulu PM; Prairie PM; Chicago Society of Etchers. Exh: SF Newspaper Artists, 1903; Int'l PM (LA), 1934; Calif. PM, 1936; Calif. Society of Etchers, 1937 (1st prize). In: Fogg Museum (Harvard); NMAA; NY Public Library.