PETALUMA, CA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Alton Kelley, the artist behind a distinctive graphic art style that grew out of the early days of the psychedelic era has passed away. He was 67
Kelley and his life-long collaborator Stanley Mouse are best known for their posters for “San Francisco style" dance-concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium, Winterland arena, the Fillmore West, the Avalon Ballroom, and a host of other Bay Area theaters and amphitheaters. They also created world-renowned posters and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey, Steve Miller, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and others.
The two artists historically worked as a team, in their words "riffing off each other's giggle." They appropriated from historic sources, in one instance re-working an obscure nineteenth-century etching to create their iconic Grateful Dead "skeleton and roses" design. They combined vibrant Sixties color with French poster-making joi de vivre enthusiasm, and their own adapted technique, to generate compelling pieces often issued on a weekly basis. Their posters were key examples of what became one of the most important art movements of the latter part of the twentieth century.
He is survived by the true love of his life, Marguerite Trousdale Kelley. He also leaves his mother Annie, sister Kathy, children Patty, Yossarian, and China, and grandchildren Life and Lacoda. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
