b. 1931
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Vivian Ellis, a graduate of Dillard University, initially embarked upon a career in nursing.

b. 1931

Vivian Ellis, a graduate of Dillard University, initially embarked upon a career in nursing.

No items found.
b. 1931
No items found.

Vivian Ellis, a graduate of Dillard University, initially embarked upon a career in nursing.

b. 1931

Vivian Ellis, a graduate of Dillard University, initially embarked upon a career in nursing.

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After working for two years as a teaching assistant at her alma mater, Ms. Ellis worked at Stanford University Hospital and the San Joaquin School of Nursing. In 1997, Ellis traveled to Europe where she worked at the military hospital in Munich, Germany. However, Ms. Ellis had an innate passion and desire to paint that was seemingly rooted in her childhood experiences. The daughter of a Baptist minister, Ellis recalls that she “worked in the churches and backyard with children of the neighborhood drawing and reading bible stories.” Despite her career in nursing, Ellis who is at times referred to as a self-taught artist took private lessons in Germany and studied at the Sommer Academy in Salzburg, Germany. Though Ellis had initially planned to stay only two years in Europe and return to the United States to further her studies in nursing, she “purely concentrated on the arts,” during her spare time. Ellis whose work is inspired, in part, by her religious upbringing and a deep sense of social responsibility, enjoyed a great deal of success in her early endeavors--participating in several European museum shows. Her work is also included in the collections of prestigious institutions such as the New Orleans Museum of Art and Zagrb in London England. A prolific artist, Ellis’ work has also been featured in over forty solo exhibitions. The artist writes that she doesn’t “worry about perfection in my work as I care about [how] I feel about what I am doing at the time; it is like composing a poem.” Vivian, who regularly visits, New Orleans, draws some of the inspiration for her work from often humorous interpretation of “coloured” people and traditional activities that are part of the Crescent city’s rich cultural milieu. The Amistad Research Center in New Orleans is also the repository for the artist’s personal manuscripts. Ellis’ work was represented at an exhibition at the Amistad titled “Beyond The Blues: Reflections Of African America in The Fine Arts in 2010.

Exhibitions (Artist) selected
Naïve Kunst Gallery (Cologne, Germany)
• Museum Charlotte Zander (Bonnigheim, Germany)
• Amerika Haus (Stuggart, Germany)
• Stanford Museum and Nature Center (Connecticut-USA)

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20th Century
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20th Century

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