Kelly William Poling achieved notoriety for his larger-than-life murals capturing local history. Poling, a resident of Chillicothe since 1997, incorporated the past into the town’s present. A realist painter who specializes in reproduction and enlargement of photographs, Poling’s renditions of days gone by provided the Chillicothe area with an original, living history.
In total, Poling created twenty-three murals and one ghost sign for downtown Chillicothe. Family was a big part of Poling’s work, and he often hid the names of his family members in his murals. See if you can spot wife, Angela; son, Gabriel or daughter, McKenna in any of the murals on your next stroll through town.
Poling displayed works in the MGM and Palace Station Casinos in Las Vegas, Nev., as well as the Josyln Art Museum in Omaha, Neb. He owned the Original Artworks by Kelly Art Gallery which featured his smaller scale art. Unfortunately, Kelly passed away in December, 2018. Gone but never forgotten, Main Street Chillicothe set up a foundation in his name to preserve his works for years to come.
