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John David Kelly (artist)

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Canadian artist (1862–1958)

John David Kelly
Born(1862-10-15)October 15, 1862
Gore's Landing, Ontario
DiedDecember 27, 1958(1958-12-27) (aged 96)
Toronto
EducationOntario School of Art, later known as OCAD, Toronto
Known forpainting, printmaking, artist-illustrator
SpouseAlice Bigelow (m. 1886)

John David Kelly (October 15, 1862 – December   27, 1958) who signed his work J. D. Kelly was an "enormously popular" painter, printmaker and artist-illustrator known for the series of calendar illustrations he did for the Confederation Life Association, depicting great moments in Canadian history. He researched his historical paintings with such accuracy that he has been described by the Toronto Globe & Mail as a reconstructor rather than a painter of historical scenes. His work “made history more real to hundreds and thousands of Canadians”.

Biography

Keley was born at Gore's Landing, Ontario on the south shore of Rice Lake, near Peterborough. In 1878, he enrolled at the Ontario School of Art, later known as OCAD, studying with Marmaduke Matthews, John Arthur Fraser and Henri Perré, becoming a gold medalist in 1881 and graduating in 1882.

From 1882 to 1885, he worked for the Grip Lithographing firm, then joined the Toronto Lithographing Company, the largest and most advanced lithography firm in the city (it became Rolph-Clark-Stone Ltd), and spent 70 years with the company as its premier calendar artist, retiring in 1955.

He was one of the founders of the Toronto Art Students' League and contributed to its calendars. He was commissioned by the C.P.R to make illustrated maps and in 1911 and 1929, the C.P.R. commissioned him to travel across Canada o to record images of the country.

He exhibited his paintings at the Ontario Society of Artists exhibitions, where he was elected a member (1895-1912), in the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, the Art Association of Montreal, Montreal Art Club and the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo (1901).

Push on, brave York volunteers(large)

His series of historical paintings are in the collection of Confederation Life (28 works) (now Rogers Communications), the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal, the Toronto Public Library and Library and Archives Canada which has Push On, brave York volunteers (1896) and also has his fonds. 13 of the prints of the paintings owned by Confederation Life are owned by the Cobourg Museum Foundation. Lithographs are also in the collection of Bridgeman Images. Two murals by Kelly are owned by the Royal York Hotel. There is a heritage plaque in Warkworth that recognizes his life and work as a historical artist.

Notes

  1. It is called the "Gallery of Canadian History" and was shown throughout Canada, the United States, and in London, England; appeared on Confederation's annual calendars, and in booklets for many different groups, art classes, and historical societies.

Personal life

One of Kelly’s feet was crushed in a logging accident as a young man.

References

  1. "Artists". app.pch.gc.ca. Government of Canada. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  2. ^ Obituary, Globe and Mail, Toronto, Dec. 29, 1958, Artist's file at the Art Gallery of Ontario Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives, Toronto.
  3. ^ "Article". Globe and Mail, Toronto, Nov. 15, 1955, Artist's file at the Art Gallery of Ontario Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives, Toronto. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  4. ^ ”Fine Historical Picture by Aged Toronto Painter Called for Much Research”, Toronto Telegram, 26 June 1943, Artist's file at the Art Gallery of Ontario Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives, Toronto.
  5. ^ Bradfield, Helen (1970). Art Gallery of Ontario. The Canadian Collection. Toronto: McGraw-Hill. p. 227. ISBN 0070925046. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  6. "Article". phsc.ca. Photographic Historical Society of Canada. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  7. Jefferys, C.W. (2017). ""Reminiscences of Old Litho. Life". (unpublished holograph ms. relating to period 1885–1890). From the From "The Old Litho Life" to "Never a Day without a Line" / De l'atelier de lithographie traditionnel à celui où il ne se passe " pas un jour sans un trait " by Robert Stacey". National Gallery of Canada Journal. 8 (June): 99–134. doi:10.3138/ngcr.8.005. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  8. Stacey, Robert. "Article:Art-illustration". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  9. C. M. Manly, "The Toronto Art Students’ League: A Brief Chronicle," n.d. (after 1913), holograph ms., Ontario Society of Artists Papers, Archives of Ontario, Toronto.
  10. Murray, Joan. "Ontario Society of Artists: 100 Years". Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 1972, p.63. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  11. McMann, Evelyn (1981). Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  12. ^ Russell, Clive. "JDKelly" (PDF). cliverussell.com. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  13. "Painter of Scenes in Canadian History", Globe and Mail, Toronto, 28 Dec. 1958, Artist's file, National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives, Ottawa.
  14. A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 (online only), by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada
  15. "Collection". collections.musee-mccord-stewart.ca. McCord Museum, Montreal. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  16. "Collection". digitalarchive.tpl.ca. TPL. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  17. "Collection". recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  18. "Collection". vitacollections.ca. Cobourg Museum Foundation. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  19. "Collection". www.bridgemanimages.com. Bridgeman Images. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  20. "Article". www.heritagetrust.on.ca/plaques. Heritage Trust. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
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