08/01/2026
Robert M. Ellis
𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥-𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦
ca. 1970s
signed lower right
lithograph
19 x 24 inches
Prior to his arrival in New Mexico in 1964, Robert M. Ellis had traversed a range of geographic and professional landscapes. He was born and raised in Ohio, studied architecture at Case Western before enlisting in the Navy in 1942, moved to Mexico City to earn his BFA under the GI Bill, then settled in Southern California, earning his MFA and becoming Curator of Education at the Pasadena Art Museum.
While working at the Pasadena Art Museum, R.M. designed the museum’s graphics. During this period, he also became enamored with small presses, typesetting, and cut-and-past layout. These interests would lead R.M. to create his 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘺 and 𝘉𝘢𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 series, what Louise Lewis (Director Emeritus, Art Galleries, and Professor Emeritus, Art History, California State University Northridge) would call his “mid-career hyper-perspectival interiors.”
The 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘺 and 𝘉𝘢𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 series include lithographs, photo linen collages with oil and charcoal, and graphite with photographs on paper. Images seen through the windows of these “studios” include yachts on the water, Ranchos Church in Taos, and, as seen in 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥-𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 above, a child sitting on the front steps of his home.
These artworks show a room transfixed in time, but with the elements that show the life that resides there: a half drunk cup of water on the ground, a paused television program, an empty rocking chair that appears on the brink of rocking again…
𝘉𝘰𝘣 & 𝘉𝘰𝘣: 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘔. 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘊. 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴 is on display at 203 Fine Art through August 15th.
203FINEART.com
