Color etching and aquatint. 425x350 mm; 16 3/4x13 3/4 inches, full margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this scarce print.
Kelly (1879-1962) was born in Oakland and studied art in the San Francisco Bay area before becoming an illustrator for the San Francisco Examiner. In 1923, Kelly and his wife moved to Hawai'i, with the intent to remain for a year, working for an advertising agency to promote tourism to the islands. They ended up relocating to Hawai'i permanently, both working as artists (Kate Kelly was a sculptor), enamored of the inhabitants, landscapes and seascapes of the islands. Kelly created the most comprehensive body of work of any other American printmaker during the first half of the 20th century which captured the people, traditional customs and views of Hawai'i in colorful etchings, aquatints and oils.
