Kelly, Leon, 1901-

Leon Kelly (1901-1982) was an American surrealist painter. In his manuscript of the history of the Kelly family, Leon Kelly states that he was born in Perignan, France. His father, however, persuaded the family physician in Philadelphia to have the birth recorded as having taken place there. As a child, Kelly studied art privately then at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art (1921-1924), and maintained a studio in France for several years until 1930. He taught art at the Brooklyn Museum and the University of Wyoming, and his work was exhibited at, and is in the permanent collections of, many of the great galleries both in the United States and abroad. He is remembered as a significant artist of the American surrealist movement.

From the guide to the Leon Kelly Papers, 1882-1965, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)