Alton Kelley

Who was Alton Kelley?

Alton Kelley was an American artist best known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concerts and albums. Along with artists Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso and Wes Wilson, Kelley founded the Berkeley Bonaparte distribution agency in order to produce and sell psychedelic poster art.

Along with fellow artist Stanley Mouse, Kelley is credited with creating the wings and beetles on all Journey album covers as well as the skull and roses image for the Grateful Dead. Kelley's artwork on the 1971 self-titled live album, Grateful Dead, incorporated a black and white illustration of a skeleton by Edmund Sullivan, which originally appeared in a 19th-century edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

In 1995, Kelley designed and printed a limited edition poster of Jack Kerouac to raise money for the Jan Kerouac Benefit Fund. Kelley is also credited for the cover art from the 1996, King's X album Ear Candy.

He was brought up in Connecticut and worked as a welder there.

He died on June 1, 2008, at the age of 67, after a long illness.