Mary Kirk Kelly (AL, 1918-2013), A Group of Ceramic Fruit

Axis, Alabama, late 20th century, (27) pieces, to include: (10) bananas, (5) apples, (5) pears, and (7) apricots; all but one signed "Mary Kirk Kelly."

Longest banana 8 1/2 in.; Apricots approximately 1 5/8 x 1 1/2 x 1 5/8 in.

Collection of the Leggett Family, Danville, Virginia

Mary Kirk Kelly was born in Axis, Alabama in 1918. Her father owned a brick yard which used local clays, so it was quite fitting that Kelly would turn to ceramics after retiring as a teacher. She began first with the standard plates and mugs, but found her true calling after a neighbor asked her to make a replica of a prized cabbage he had grown.

Rare light mark or grime; bananas with occasional tiny chips and areas of rubbing to paint at ends, (2) with a small paint flake to body, and one with a slightly larger chip to stem; one apricot with a scratch and one with a small flake; (4) pears with loss of stem, one pear with loss of stem and leaf present but detached.

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