Peter Kelly (1931 - 2019)
As a young artist Peter was educated at the West Ham School of Art and Technology and afterwards at the Central School of Art and Design in London. In 1957, he pursued a career as a graphic designer, illustrator and painter. In 1982 Peter Kelly was elected a full member of the Royal Society of British Artists. In 1995 Peter became a member of the Small Painting Society and in 2007 he was appointed a member of the New English Art Club. He exhibited widely, including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. He has also won prizes in national competition on six occasions and was a finalist in the Hunting Competition five times. He won the Jeffrey Archer Prize at the RWS Open at Bankside Gallery in 1993. More recently - in the RBA Annual Exhibitions - his paintings won the Daler Rowney Award and the Higgs & Hill Bursary, and he was nominated for the De Lazlo Medal whilst at the "Discerning Eye" Exhibition at the Mall Galleries he won the American Express Award.
Peter's paintings display his mastery of light. His preference for a limited palette of muted tonal colours, occasionally warmed by brighter accents which was reminiscent of the Dutch and Scandinavian Schools. His paintings of architecture show the fine classical draughtsmanship which characterises his work. Peter painted interiors, landscapes and still life. He explored the world of empty rooms, mysterious corridors, atmospheric canals and ancient silent churches. Peter's works are invariably paintings of stillness, of moments suspended in time. In a world of increasing pace and rapidity they offer an escape into a world of calm and quiet reflection