John Phillip “J.P.” Kelley was born March 3, 1927, in Phoenix, Arizona. He was the son of a range boss and cowboy, John Constantine Kelley, who was born and raised in rugged New Mexico. As a young man, J.P. worked as a cowpuncher on the Apache reservation in Arizona alongside his dad in the 1940's and 1950's. During that era, he went by the nickname Jack Kelley. In his own words, he recalled, “I was raised on a horse, staring cattle in the rump. I rode and worked on more mean horses than the average modern-day cowhand ever saw.”

J.P. Kelley’s firsthand experience as a true cowboy influenced and informed his artwork. Kelley indicated “his first award in the art field came at about age 9 [thus circa 1936] when he entered a painting of ...