John Melville Kelly (1879-1962) - Big Surf at Waikiki 1940 - Print AP1759

Measures 9 7/8" x 14". Cover Design for Hawaiian Hotels Ltd.

Born in Oakland, CA on Nov. 2, 1879.  John 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.

Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Ferdinand Perret Files; Who's Who in American Art 1936-62; California State Library (Sacramento); Honolulu Star Bulletin, 9-10-1962 (obituary).