John Melville Kelly was an American painter and printmaker. He was born in Oakland, California in 1879. He studied art at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art

San Francisco Art Institute

San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...

 (San Francisco), the Partington Art School (San Francisco) and with Eric Spencer Macky (1880-1958).

Kelly worked for fourteen years as an illustrator for the San Francisco Examiner, and had even been a prizefighter, before he and his wife, the sculptor Kate Kelly

Kate Kelly (sculptor)

Kate Kelly or Katherine Kelly was an American sculptor and printmaker. She was born in California, the daughter of suffragette Hester Lambert Harland. Kate first visited Hawaii with her mother in 1898, at age 16. She studied at the Partington Art School in San Francisco, where she met the...

, went to Hawaii in 1923. Their plan was to stay a year, working for an advertising agency creating material to promote tourism. They fell in love with the islands and the people and stayed permanently. Kate took a class in printmaking at the University of Hawaii

University of Hawaii

The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...

 with Huc-Mazelet Luquiens

Huc-Mazelet Luquiens

Huc-Mazelet Luquiens was an American printmaker, painter and art educator who was born June 30, 1881 in Massachusetts to French-speaking Swiss parents. He graduated from Yale University where he received training in art, earning both a bachelor of arts and master of fine arts degrees...

 (1881-1961), and then taught John the techniques.

John’s ravishing depictions of Polynesians was, in fact, what distinguished him from other artists in Hawaii at the time. The Kellys immediately identified with the native Hawaiians and became their champions in images and in print. John produced etchings and aquatints, primarily of human figures, though he occasionally did landscapes as well. He authored and illustrated "Etchings and Drawings of Hawaiians" in 1943, and "The Hula as Seen in Hawaii" in 1955. John Melville Kelly died in Honolulu in 1962.

The Hawaii State Art Museum

Hawaii State Art Museum

The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.-History:...

, the Honolulu Academy of Arts

Honolulu Academy of Arts

The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...

, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....

 (Kansas City, Missouri), Saint Joseph College Art Gallery (West Hartford, Connecticut) and the San Diego Museum of Art

San Diego Museum of Art

The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed its name to the San...

(San Diego, California) are among the public collections holding work by John Melville Kelly.