Sir Gerald Festus Kelly
KCVO (9 April 1879 – 5 January 1972) was a British painter best known for his
portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
s.
Gerald Kelly was born in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
, and later lived and studied art in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
[Sir Gerald Festus KellyPortfolio at Liss Fine Art]
/ref> James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
was an early influence. Kelly travelled much, visiting Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, and Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, which inspired a series of paintings of Burmese dancers.
In 1920 he married Lilian Ryan, who became his model for a celebrated series of portraits. These were exhibited under the title ''Jane'', followed by a Roman numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
that corresponded to the year of exhibition. Other sitters included T. S. Eliot, Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
, and Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
, whom he painted 18 times.
Maugham, a lifelong friend of Kelly, wrote an introduction to a catalogue (1950) of an exhibition of Kelly's work. Maugham regularly portrayed Kelly in his works, as Lionel Hillier in '' Cakes and Ale'', as Frederick Lawson in ''Of Human Bondage
''Of Human Bondage'' is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. The novel is generally agreed to be Maugham's masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although he stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography; though much in i ...
'' and as O'Malley in ''His Excellency
Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...
'' presenting him as "the young Irish painter called O'Malley", and dedicating '' Ashenden'' to him.
He became a favourite painter of the Royal Family. He was elected to the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in 1930, was the Academy's Keeper from 1943–45, and served as its president from 1949–54. Kelly held a number of official positions, such as his membership of the Royal Fine Arts Commission
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) was an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government, established in 1999. It was funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for C ...
, 1938–43, and was knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in the 1945 King's Birthday Honours List. The artist John Napper
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
(1916–2001) worked as his assistant. In 1950 he was elected to the National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
as an Honorary Corresponding Academician.
Kelly died in Exmouth
Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter.
In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...
in 1972. He is represented in many public collections, including the Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
, which holds seven works.
His father was the Rev. Frederic Festus Kelly (1838–1918), formerly the vicar at St Giles', Camberwell where the young Kelly grew up. His grandfather, also named Frederic Festus Kelly
Frederic Festus Kelly (died 3 June 1883) was a high official in the British Post Office. He was also the founder of Kelly & Co. (later Kelly's Directories Ltd.), which published the Kelly's Directory, a sort of Victorian-era "Yellow Pages" that l ...
, was the founder of Kelly's Directories Ltd.
Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in England that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses o ...
His sister, Rose Edith Kelly
Rose Edith Kelly (23 July 1874 – 1932) married noted author, Magick (Aleister Crowley), magician and occultist Aleister Crowley in 1903. In 1904, she aided him in the Cairo Working that led to the reception of ''The Book of the Law'', on whi ...
, was briefly married to Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...
.
Kelly's London residence at 117 Gloucester Place in Marylebone is marked by an English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
blue plaque placed in 1993.
Notes
References
*Hudson, Derek (1975). ''For Love of Painting''
*Postle, Martin; Vaughan, William (1999). ''The Artist's Model from Etty to Spencer''. London: Merrell Holberton.
External links
*
His paintings and short biography
2008 article on Newport exhibition that includes Gerald Kelly painting
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Gerald Festus
1879 births
1972 deaths
Royal Academicians
Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
20th-century British painters
British male painters
Knights Bachelor
Keepers of the Royal Academy
People educated at Eton College
20th-century British male artists