Frances Josephine Kelly (Feb 14, 1908 – 2002; usually known as Judy Boland), was an Irish painter. She is known for being the wife of Frederick Boland, an Irish diplomat who served as the United Nations representative for Ireland. By the age of twenty seven, when she married, she had attained prominence as a painter.

Early life

Kelly was born on Feb 14, 1908 in Coolagh Bridge, Drogheda, Louth, Ireland to James and Marion Kelly (née Shields). On 11 February 1935, she married Irish diplomat Frederick Boland in the Church of St Michael, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland. They had a son, Fergal and four daughters; Jane, Nessa, Mella, and the poet Eavan Boland.

Artistic career

Kelly studied at the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, Ireland, and, from 1932 to 1935, in Paris, France with the cubist painter Léopold Survage. In Ireland, she painted the murals in Tullamore Hospital, and those at the old Russell Hotel, Dublin. Kelly specialized in still life works. Her work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. She died 20 August 2002 in Donnybrook, Dublin.