Lawrence Kelsey is a painter based in New York City. Born in Lakewood, Ohio
in 1948, he moved to New York in the early 1970s to study at the Art Students League, where he trained from 1973 to 1977. For over three decades, Kelsey has painted the city around him—its shifting skyline, quiet industrial edges, and the atmospheric stillness found in moments of transition. He paints in tonal, restrained palettes, allowing steam, concrete, and sky to converge in subtle harmonies. His larger pieces seek intimacy, while his smaller works hold presence—capturing not just the physical landscape but the ephemeral sense of time passing through it. Rather than offering fixed narratives, his compositions invite quiet observation, asking viewers to sit with the in-between. Working primarily in oil and gouache, his canvases center light and shadow as emotional agents, evoking a pared-back realism that brushes against abstraction.

Kelsey’s paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows across New York, including at the Michael Ingbar Gallery of Architectural Art, where his series of New York cityscapes was widely noted for its atmospheric nuance and painterly restraint. In addition to his studio practice, he has worked as a professional art restorer, a dual path that reflects his deep understanding of surface, tone, and material history. His work is held in private collections throughout the U.S.

ONE MAN SHOWS

2016 Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2014 Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2011 Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2009 Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2008 Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2005 Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2004 Douglas Baker Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2003 Michael Ingbar Gallery, New York, NY
2001 Michael Ingbar Gallery, New York, NY
2001 Douglas Baker Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
1999 Michael Ingbar Gallery, New York, NY
1993/94 DeBruce Gallery, DeBruce, NY

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2018 In Dialogue Madelyn Jordan Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2014 Summer Remix Madelyn Jordan Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
2007 United States Embassy, US Art in Embassy Program, Moscow, Russia
2005 Douglas Baker Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2005 New York University Small Works Exhibition, Washington Square East Galleries, NY
2005 United States Embassy, US Art in Embassy Program, Moscow, Russia
2004 Hubert Gallery, New York, NY
2001 Up On The Roof (New York Historical Society), New York, NY
2001 Lizan Tops Gallery, East Hampton, NY
2000 Audubon Artists, New York, NY
1999 23rd Annual Small Works Show, New York, NY
1996-2001 Michael Ingbar Gallery, New York, NY
1997 Martin Sumers Graphics, New York, NY
1995 Wickers Gallery, New York, NY
1991-96 Kent Art Association, Representational Spring & Fall Shows, Kent CT
1988-85 Marie Pellicone Galelry, New York, NY
1987 Allied Artist of American Annual Exhibit, New York, NY
1987 Princeton Art Association, Princeton, NJ
1986 Hillwood Art Museum, C.W. Post Campus, Broville, NY
1986-89 Blue Hill Cultural Center, Pearl River, NY
1982-83 Drawing Center, New York, NY

AWARDS

1988 Frank Vorhees Award
1985 Kent Art Association 59th Annual
1976 Louis Comfort Tiffany Scholarship
1975 Arnold Blanch Memorial Scholarship