Influential 60’s Artist - Houlton Native Alton Kelley Dies

 

Alton Kelley, an artist who helped created the psychedelic style of posters and other art associated with the 1960s San Francisco rock scene, has died. He was 67.

Kelley died Sunday of complications from osteoporosis at his home in Petaluma, Calif., according to his publicist, Jennifer Gross.

Kelley and his lifelong collaborator, Stanley “Mouse” Miller, churned out iconic work from their studio, a converted firehouse where Janis Joplin first rehearsed with Big Brother and the Holding Company.

The pair created dozens of classic rock posters, including the famous Grateful Dead “skull and roses” poster designed for a show at the Avalon Ballroom, as well as posters and album covers for Journey, Steve Miller, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.

Kelley was born in Houlton, and grew up in Connecticut, where his parents moved when he was young.