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SIMON, Ellen
- Born
- Toronto, Ontario, 1916
- Died
- Amesbury, Massachusetts, 2011
- Biography synopsis
- Ellen Simon explored diverse approaches in her art practice which began with studies at the Ontario College of Art (Toronto) with Yvonne McKague Housser, among others. She also took courses at the Art Students League of New York, the New School, and the Bank Street School Writers Laboratory. She apprenticed with Yvonne Williams at her stained glass studio and later collaborated in a number of projects. Her first stained glass commission was produced for the Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto in 1941. For almost forty years she worked in the Toronto studio of Yvonne Williams from 1941 to 1978. Her modernist work, which focused on political and social issues, is held at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, Brooklyn Museum, New York Public Library, and can be seen in numerous churches and temples including Princeton University Chapel, Notre Dame Chapel, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, Temple Emanuel, Temple Shaar Hashomayim in Windsor and in many private collections. In addition to glass work, she was also recognised for her graphic work and illustrations for children's books. She later pursued studies at the New York Psychiatric Institute and attended Art Therapy Workshops at the Art Therapy Training Institute.
- Media used
- Book illustration
- Glass painting and staining
- Printmaking
- Stained glass
- Education
- Ontario College of Art & Design (formerly Ontario School of Art), 1934 - 1936 (under Yvonne McKague Housser, Franklin Carmichael, Gustave and Emmanuel Hahn)
- Art Students' League, New York, 1936 - 1938 (under Soyer, Strenberg, Kantor, Charlot)
- File & Archive locations
- Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
- Hamilton Public Library, ON - Local History and Archives Department
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
- University of Toronto, ON - Archives and Records Management Services
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- "Art and Artists - Art College receives Valued Gift." Globe and Mail 6 Nov. 1948
- "Ellen Simon follows own Line in Art." Globe and Mail 19 July 1947
- "The Artist behind the Window." Mayfair Dec. 1954: 28, 30
- Bradfield, Helen Pepall. Art Gallery of Ontario: The Canadian Collection Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1970
- Bristol, Naomi. "Woman of the Week - Stained Glass Artist." Saturday Night Mar. 1951
- Egerton, Diane. "A Canadian in New York: Ellen Simon." Devils Artisan 43 (Fall/Winter 1998)
- Fine, Janet. "Toronto Gallery highlights Women's Work." The Sault Star 09 Jul 1975: 28
- Fine, Janet. "Toronto Gallery highlights Women's Work." The Sault Star 09 Jul 1975: 28
- Gasner, C.. "Artist explores Socially Conscious Themes." Canadian Jewish News 10 Sept. 1998: 18
- Krtizwiser, Kay. "Art - An Artist hooked on Stained Glass." Globe and Mail 1 April 1975
- MacDonald, Colin S. The Dictionary of Canadian Artists. (Volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker) Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009
