Kelly Fearing was born in 1918 in Fordyce, Arkansas. He studied art at Louisiana Tech University and earned his master's degree from Columbia University in 1950. Kelly moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 1943 and became a founding member of Fort Worth Circle, a group of artists largely responsible for introducing modernist art and ideas to Texas. 

A professor at the University of Texas at Austin from 1947 to 1987, Fearing was described as a "magical realist" and "Romantic Surrealist," and is recognized as one of the most important figures in the history of Texas art. 

He passed away in Austin in 2011 at the age of 92.