Color aquatint by John Kelly, Jr., ca. 1941. John Kelly was born in California and raised in Arizona. He received his formal art education at the Mark Hopkins School in San Francisco, where he met his future wife, sculptor Katherine Harland. After he spent a number of years as an artist with the San Francisco Examiner, they came to Hawaii in 1923. Kelly began copper plate etching in 1925, working in drypoint and etched line, then in color aquatint. He was a founding member of the Honolulu Printmakers, and during the next four decades his work brought him acclaim in Hawaii and abroad.

Kelly's color aquatints are remarkable for thier precise registry, since one image often required a separate plate for each color. His favorite subjects were Native Hawaiians. Kelly was attracted to these friendly people, and his art pays tribute to their sharing and cooperative culture. Breadfruit Boy honors an important food for Polynesians.

Image size: 11 5/8 x 7 + in. Each print is packaged with a white mat border, 11 x 14 in.