196003 Desert Magazine 1960 March

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OUTDOORSOUTHWEST

March,

1960

35c

ELLIS

FREMONT

this month's

com scene:"On the Way

to

the

Sing"

By W. THETFORD LeVINESS

Ellis—one

of Santa

Fe's

internationally

famous

"cinco

pintores"—studied

the

old

masters, then

went

off by himself

to

paint . . .

Fremont

Ellis will have a one-man

show

at the admission-free Desert

Magazine

Art Gallery in Palm Desert,Calif, from February 23 to March 14.

Taos

Artist Charles Reynolds will show

his

work at the Desert Magazine Art

Gallery

from March 15 to April 4.

The

Gallery is open seven days a week

during

the winter

season,

from 9 a.m.

to

6 p.m.

U-XiTOU LEARN to paint by paint-ing," says Santa Fe's FremontEllis, known throughout theSouthwest for his likable oil land-scapes. "You study the old masters,then you go off by yourself and paint."Largely self-taught, Ellis speaksfrom experience. "I had very littleeducation in art," he says. "All mylife I've just been painting."Ellis was born in Virginia City,Montana; while "on tour"—his familywas in show business. As a child hetraveled vaudeville circuits in manyparts of the country, and when he was15 was in New York City awhile. Oneday his mother took him to the Met-ropolitan Museum of Art."The paintings I saw there were asort of revelation," he recalls. "I wentback myself many times, and finallyan idea took hold. I wanted to be anartist."He spent three months at NewYork's Art Students League; sincethen painting has been his entire ca-reer. He settled in Santa Fe in 1919and built a studio on the picturesquemud-strewn Camino del Monte Sol.Ellis, as much as anyone, helped es-tablish the reputation of this street asthe hub of a thriving American artcolony. He was one of the

"cincopintores,"

a Santa Fe group that at-tained international prominence in the1920s. (The others were Josef Bakos,Walter Murk, Willard Nash and WillShuster.)The bulk of Ellis' landscapes havea Southwestern flavor; there arehouses, animals, and people in manyof them. He is definitely "representa-tional"—but the term means little tohim. He doesn't try to copy whatNature has already done for his sub-ject."Leave that to the photographer,"he says. "I want my finished productto be a good painting. The subject ismerely a means to an end."He won't become involved in at-tacks on the so-called "modernists";instead, he says the true abstractionistand non-objectivist have much to offer."Why this constant quarrel with the

avant garde?"

he asks. "There's anabstract and non-objective approachto all my own paintings, and I don'tconsider such an approach 'modern.'It's actually nothing new. It's beenused in good painting through theages. I think the serious abstractionistand the non-objectivist of today con-tribute a great deal to contemporaryart."Ellis will say repeatedly that hissubject-matter is secondary, but hisaspens look like aspens and his Indi-ans look like Indians. And he makesa good living selling his paintings,chiefly to people who never buy strictly"non-representational" art.Galleries like his work too. Asearly as 1924 he won the Huntingtonprize for the best landscape at theLos Angeles Museum, and honorshave come swiftly ever since. Recentawards include the Adele Hyde Mor-rison prize and bronze medal at theOakland (Calif.) Art Gallery in 1953,and two highly coveted Southwesthonors in 1958—the purchase prizeat the art show held yearly at Spring-ville, Utah; and the first prize in theannual Rodeo de Santa Fe exhibitionat the Museum of New Mexico inSanta Fe.Ellis enjoys exhibiting his work. Heis represented in public and privategalleries throughout the Southwest.When a painting or a group of paint-ings of his is hung, he usually attendsthe opening.After 40 years in Santa Fe, Ellisis a well-liked and respected citizen.His present studio is on Canyon Road,another artery of the art colony hehelped found. He attends artists' teasand social events at Santa Fe galleries,and belongs to a local art-film club.He paints on a daily schedule, andtravels to many parts of the South-west on sketching

trips.—END

DESERT MAGAZINE

"Serenity"

Bold,

ttemendous

desert skies

mtk Fremont Ellislandscapes...

"High Noon"MARCH, 1960

of 00

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