John Kelly

(Scottish, b. 1939)



“By working aboard a vessel, you have a better feeling for painting a vessel.
Just like anything else, do the subject matter first that you’re most familiar with.”
— John Kelly

Multi-talented artist John Kelly is widely considered the greatest living maritime painter in the world. Kelly was born in Scotland, and lived in Canada as a child. His family were seafaring folk, and he worked on four different ships as a merchant marine seaman off the Canadian and Alaskan coasts, which would later inspire much of his artwork. He is also musically talented and performed in nationally recognized musical groups, after which he studied at the Art Center College of Design, showing exceptional artistic talent. Kelly studied under and collaborated with Lynton Kisteler, resulting in distinctive maritime works, which are now in the Smithsonian Museum. Kelly is a painter, lithographer, multimedia artist, lecturer, instructor, and musician.

Kelly was the first American artist to render landscapes of the People’s Republic of China in a lithographic suite after the governmental change. His publications and shows have been distributed in international locations like Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti. The artist’s first hardcover book was printed by Collier Press in Kyoto, Japan in 1984 at the famous Nissha printing village. He has also printed with the Ettinger Atelier in New York, as well as other notable studios worldwide.

Some of his well-recognized achievements include receiving awards from the mayors of San Francisco and Atlanta, being presented with the coat of arms of Glasgow, Scotland, winning the Quesnel Drawing Award, and being named one of the top 100 artists in America by American Artist magazine and Best Artist of the Malibu Festival of Arts, California. He has also been a long-time Associate Member of the New York Pastel Society. Kelly has reached over 75,000 collectors worldwide and continues to create art, currently residing in Los Angeles.

American Fine Art, Inc. is proud to feature the original works and limited editions of John Kelly. Visit our 12,000 sq. ft. showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona or call today. Our website is offered only as a limited place to browse or refresh your memory and is not a reflection of our current inventory. To learn more about collecting, pricing, value, or any other art information, please contact one of our International Art Consultants. We look forward to giving you the one on one attention you deserve when building your fine art collection. We hope you find our website helpful and look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale soon.