Cornelius Kelley (1873-1954) was a Deerfield, Massachusetts, farmer and blacksmith who became nationally known through his decorative wrought-iron work. Beginning around 1900, he gradually shifted away from traditional blacksmithing to contributing delicately beautiful items to the annual Deerfield arts and crafts fairs. By 1915, he was well known enough to be offered a position teaching metallurgy at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a position he held for only two years before returning to Deerfield. By the early 1920s, his business had shifted entirely to artistic ironwork, as traditional blacksmithing had mostly disappeared in an era marked by rapid modernization. By 1942, now aged 68, Kelley retired from active blacksmithing. He was a noted contributor during the national Arts and Crafts Movement (1875-1920), popular in Deerfield, that heavily influenced American design in the first half of the 20th century.