Gary Kelley

From national magazine covers to murals, book illustrations and major league sports art, Gary Kelley has spent decades shaping visual culture… an artistic journey that began at the University of Northern Iowa. 

After growing up in Algona, Kelley attended the State College of Iowa to study graphic design and painting. Courses in art theory and art history helped him develop and mold his own philosophy of art and taste.

After graduating in 1968, Kelley focused on graphic design and art direction until the late 1970s when his illustration career began with his first commission for “Better Homes and Gardens.” Later would come illustrations in Time, Rolling Stone and The New Yorker.

He created the theme art for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game and was the official artist for the 2002 Kentucky Derby. Kelley has also done work for the National Football League and Major League Baseball. 

Kelley has illustrated over 30 books, received 37 gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York and won Best-In-Show recognition in New York and Los Angeles Illustrators’ Exhibitions. In 2007, he was elected to the Society of Illustrators New York Hall of Fame. 

His larger works include a mural featured in Barnes and Noble locations nationwide, a Google data center in Council Bluffs and the tunnel between the UNI-Dome and McLeod Center at UNI.

Also at UNI, Kelley was the cover illustrator for a series of books dedicated to Panther athletic history and a number of posters and programs for the university over the years. In 1981, Kelley won a gold medal from the New York Society of Illustrators for his TheatreUNI season poster. His work also granted him induction into the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. 

In addition to his art, Kelley has lectured at the Smithsonian Institute, Society of Illustrators, Disney Animation, San Francisco Academy of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Ringling School of Art, Syracuse University and various other respected institutions. 

“The challenge is to keep a fresh outlook, to not get stereotyped or channeled into using only one technique,” he said. “I want to be famous, but not at the price of being bored.”