1939 Hawaii Etching Aquatint Print Breadfruit Boy by John Melville Kelly (Kel)

We are very excited to have been chosen by the John Melville Kelly estate (Kelly Art Hawaii) to offer some pieces out of their collection to you. Amongst them are obviously piece by the iconic artist John M. Kelly and also pieces by other artists that he accumulated over a lifetime.

Up for sale from the well known Kelly Art Hawaii LLC in Honolulu this 1939 Hawaii black and white etching aquatint print that is titled "Breadfruit Boy" that was created and is signed in the stone by John Melville Kelly (1879-1962). The condition is described above for more details please check the photos. There will be multiple pieces listed from the collection so please check the others in our eBay store.


Measurements:

Print 14 ¼ inches x 9.5 inches

Sheet 24 ¾ inches x 18 ¾ inches


More about the artist:
John Melville Kelly was born in Oakland, California in 1879*, and had a long and varied career there until moving to Hawaii, where he achieved fame as an artist.

Kelly worked for many years as an illustrator for the San Francisco Examiner, and had even been a prizefighter, before he and his artist wife, Katherine, 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.

Kelly's "ravishing depictions of Polynesians" was, in fact, what distinguished him from other artists in Hawaii at the time. He 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. Kelly died in Honolulu in 1962.

Condition: 

The print is overall in good pre-owned condition, it comes directly from the artist estate Kelly Art Hawaii, it is unsigned, the sheet of paper is large, the verso with some collection details in pencil