John Kelly, Carver
(fl. 1739-1773)
Carver
From A Dictionary of Irish Artists 1913
He was probably a pupil of John Houghton (q.v.), whom he assisted in the carving of the coat of arms and other decorations in stone on the pediment at Carton. He worked chiefly as a wood carver and executed the beautiful carved woodwork of the doorways, window casings, cornices and staircase in the house, No. 9 Cavendish Row, which Dr. Mosse built for himself about 1756. One of the doorways is illustrated in the Georgian Society's 1st Volume, Plate XXVII. He also did a carved bedstead, "done in the Corinthian order in mahogany," for Dr. Mosse, for which he was paid £19 8s. 6 ½ d. on the 15th September, 1759. This bed now belongs to Lady Stokes of Carrigbreac, Howth. The receipts for payment for these works are preserved in the Rotunda Hospital. In 1765 he was living in Eustace Street, and sent to the exhibition of the Society of Artists in George's Lane a bas-relief in wood of "Hibernia" and one of "The Element of Fire." He also contributed carvings to the Society's exhibitions in William Street in 1768, 1769 and 1773, and was awarded a premium by the Dublin Society in 1768 for a bas-relief in wood. There is no further mention of Kelly after 1773.