Lee Kelly

Lee Kelly
Born(1932-05-24)May 24, 1932
McCall, Idaho, U.S.
Died (aged 89)
Clackamas County, Oregon, U.S.
Alma mater
Known forSculpture & Art
Spouses
Jeanette Bernhardt
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(m. 1950; died 1960)​
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(m. 1961; died 1990)​
Children2
Websiteweb.archive.org/web/20220919132606/http://www.lee-kelly.net/

Lee Kelly (May 24, 1932 – March 28, 2022)[1] was an American sculptor who has more than 30 sculptures on display between Eugene, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington.[2] Kelly has been called "Oregon's sculptor".[2]

Personal life

Born in rural McCall in central Idaho, Kelly was raised near Riggins, Idaho.[3] His family moved to Portland in 1945 and he attended Roosevelt High School. From 1949 to 1951, he attended Vanport Extension Center, which is now Portland State University. From 1951 to 1955, he was in the United States Air Force Reserves at Portland Air Force Base, including service on active duty.[4] He married Jeanette Bernhardt.[3] During the late 1950s he attended Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon.[3] From 1967 to 1971, he taught at Mt. Angel College, Mt. Angel, Oregon. Bernhardt and Kelly had one daughter Kassandra, and Bernhardt died in 1960 of cancer before Kassandra turned one.[3]

In 1961, Kelly married Bonnie Bronson, and in 1963 they bought a 5-acre (2.0 ha) dairy farm near Oregon City, where as of 2010 Kelly still lived.[3] Kelly and Bronson had a son, Jason, who died in 1978 of leukemia, while Bronson died while climbing Mount Adams with Kelly in 1990.[3] Subsequently, Kelly partnered for the next three decades with Oregon's trailblazing lawyer, mediator, community leader, and philanthropist, Susan Hammer, until her death from cancer in August 2020.[5][6]

Lee Kelly died at his home in Clackamas County on March 28, 2022.[7]

Professional Work

As one of the most revered artists in the Pacific Northwest, Lee Kelly is best known for his monumental public sculptures throughout Oregon and the surrounding region. In 1959, after Kelly graduated from the Museum Art School at the Portland Art Museum (now known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art, PNCA), he began a long, prestigious career resulting in a significant body of work. His work can be found in public and private collections throughout the country, including the Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA), New Orleans Art Museum (New Orleans, LA), Seattle Art Museum (Seattle, WA) and the City of Sapporo, Japan. As one of the most recognized artists in the Northwest, Kelly's modernist sculptures are a central focus at regional institutions such as Reed College, Oregon State University, Catlin Gabel School, the Oregon Health and Sciences University and the Washington Park Rose Garden. In 2012, one of his most significant works, Memory 99, was installed in Portland's North Park blocks, at the new home of PNCA. Kelly's work has been represented at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery since the early 1980s, some of which can be seen in their gallery in Portland. In 2010, Kelly was the subject of a major career retrospective at the Portland Art Museum.[8]

Select Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ Vondersmith, Jason (March 29, 2022). "Daily Life: Artist Lee Kelly, 89, dies". Portland Tribune. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  2. ^ a b "Oregon's Sculptor: Lee Kelly". Oregon Arts Commission. November 27, 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Row, D.K. (October 9, 2010). "Profile: Northwest sculptor Lee Kelly". The Oregonian. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  4. ^ Sutinen, Paul. "Sculptor Lee Kelly: Pointing toward Asia", Oregon Artswatch website, June 1, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  5. ^ The Oregonian (2 September 2022). "Susan Hammer, 1948-2020". The Oregonian. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  6. ^ Marketing & Communications (1 April 2022). "Farewell to lee Kelly". Willamette University. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  7. ^ Perry, Douglas (30 March 2022). "Lee Kelly, Oregon artist and adventurer whose work features prominently across state, dies at 89". Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  8. ^ Elizabeth Leach. "Lee Kelly, 1932-2022". Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  9. ^ Tacoma Art Museum (2018). "Lee Kelly". Tacoma Art Museum. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  10. ^ Tacoma Art Museum (2018). "Lee Kelly". Tacoma Art Museum. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  11. ^ Washington State Arts Commission. "Lee Kelly". ARTSWA. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  12. ^ Portland Art Museum (30 March 2022). "In Memoriam: Lee Kelly". Portland Art Museum. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  13. ^ Architecture Foundation of Oregon (2016). "Honored Citizens". Architecture Foundation of Oregon. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
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