Rosemary Ellis (1910-1988)
Lily

36x23cm
Pen, ink and watercolour

Provenance: the family of the artist, by descent.

ROSEMARY ELLIS (1910-1988)

Born in North London in 1910, Rosemary’s father died in the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1919 and the family moved in with her mother’s parents in the New Forest. This was an environment where she grew to love nature and animals, constant themes in her artistic works.

In 1928 she began studying art at the Regent Street Polytechnic, meeting her tutor Clifford Ellis – a mere three years her senior, who was to become her husband and life-long artistic collaborator. They married in 1931 and after this date almost all their freelance work bears both their signatures. They developed a joint cipher, C&RE, which includes their names in alphabetical order, not representing any order of seniority. They produced posters in the 1930s for big clients such as London Transport, Shell, and The Empire Marketing Board.

Clifford Ellis became head of Bath School of Art, and then served during the Second World War as camoufleur and official war artist – with the Grenadier Guards. Rosemary was also an official war artist, working on the Recording Britain project whereby artists were set to record the buildings and landscape of Britain lest it be permanently damaged by the Germans.

Following the war Lyons Tearooms chose the Ellises to produce one of their famous lithographs, to be hung in their tearooms and the Ellises chose a view of Teignmouth – we have some views of Teignmouth for sale painted from this time.

If you are interested email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056.

Condition: Old fold to centre as visible in photograph.