Artist of the Month: Ellen Robbins

Artist of the Month: Ellen Robbins

Ellen Robbins, a 19th century American artist, loved painting flowers,
especially wildflowers. Robbins enjoyed success at an early age. It was said that
her paintings were so "natural that bees might light on them."
She had her paintings bound into books which she sold for $25 each - in the mid 1800s!

Autumn Leaves 1870
watercolor on paper
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Fast Facts:
Birth: 1828 Watertown, MA
Death:  1905 Boston, MA  76 years of age
Works of art: paintings, ceramic plates, furniture
Medium: Watercolors
Art Classification: Realism 

Interesting Tidbits:

Self-described:  weakly child with a "lame" foot
Favorite: Wildflowers and nature
Family: youngest of 7 children, father died when she was two
Early years:  Received first box of paints as a gift when she was a young girl.

Training:  School of Design, Boston, MA – unable to master drawing designs for fabric. Stephen Salisbury Tuckerman’s School of Design – at completion of studies (20 years old) she was “able to draw flowers with ease, and to color them.” (E.R.)

Career Start:  Ellen did needlework as a way to help financially support her family following her father’s death. Needlework, watercolor painting and drawing were considered acceptable arts (“female arts") for women in the 1800s. She did not enjoy needlework and longed to paint. Following her training at Tuckerman’s School of Design, she started painting flowers and had the  paintings bound into 20 page books which she sold for $25.00. She exhibited some paintings which led to request for private lessons.  She taught lessons in private homes for $150 per session. She eventually opened a studio to sell her paintings and teach classes.

Autumnal Leaves is a 20 page book of exquisite watercolor paintings published in 1868. You can view all 18 paintings by clicking on the link: Biodiversity Heritage Library

Later years:  Ellen's works were turned into color lithograph (chromolithograph) prints by lithographer Louis Prang further expanding her fame and market for artwork. 
1891: created illustrations for Emily Dickinson’s book entitled Poem 

Writings: 1896 Ellen wrote a series of articles entitled "Reminiscences of a Flower Painter." for the New England Magazine.

Travels: Bar Harbor, ME (studio), Isle of Shoals – off coast of NH,  1873 traveled to Europe, continued travel throughout US.

"Can You" Create Activities!

CREATE a work of art featuring
flowers, leaves or an
 autumn scene.
🌸🌼🌿🍁🖼️

Carefully OBSERVE a flower or leaf. What do you notice? Look at the details.
Create a rubbing of the leaf or flower petal.🔍

CREATE an illustration for
a poem, news article, 
short story 🎭🖼️

WRITE an article reflecting
 on time spent in nature or
something  you enjoy doing! 📝

WRITE about nature, leaves, flowers, or fall. 
It could be for a newspaper, brochure,
journal, letter, poem,  or story!📝🍂

If you could have tea and cake
with Ellen Robbins, 
what questions would you
ask about her life? 🎤