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Darien's Geary Gallery Celebrates Artist Ray Ellis

DARIEN, Conn. -- Geary Gallery in Darien presents “Timeless: The Paintings of Ray Ellis,” a celebration of the work of the late renowned painter and story teller beginning March 3.

Works by artist Ray Ellis will be on display at Geary Gallery in Darien beginning March 3.

Works by artist Ray Ellis will be on display at Geary Gallery in Darien beginning March 3.

Photo Credit: Contributed
"Timeless: The Paintings of Ray Ellis,” opens at Geary Gallery in Darien on March 3.

"Timeless: The Paintings of Ray Ellis,” opens at Geary Gallery in Darien on March 3.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The exhibit runs through March 31 at the Geary Gallery ,located at 576 Boston Post Road in Darien.

Ellis was born in Philadelphia on April 24, 1921, and began painting as a child. He spent his life celebrating each day — both on canvas and in the world he shared with Theodora "Teddie" Axtell, his wife of 28 years.

A nationally recognized artist whose paintings are in the permanent collection at The White House and museums around the country, Ellis sought out, and saw beauty in everything he viewed. He was an unwavering optimist and a romantic who imagined the best possible reality and then stepped inside, lived it, and captured it on canvas.

Ellis attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, and in 1947 at the age of 26 had his first one-man show at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was elected to the American Watercolor Society and in 1968 to the Salmagundi Club in New York, the oldest established professional art association in the country. Other New York memberships included The Century Association, the Artists’ Fellowship, and The Lotos Club. 

Ellis pursued watercolor painting while working in advertising to support his family, eventually founding his own advertising agency with offices in New Jersey and New York. But from 1969 on, he worked exclusively as an artist.

His life became truly charmed during the 1980s when he and Teddie built their summer home on Martha’s Vineyard, eventually making it their year-round residence. Throughout that decade, Ellis and the late TV journalist Walter Cronkite collaborated on three books depicting America’s coastlines in words and images: "South by Southeast," "North by Northeast," and "Westwind." There are 15 other books exclusively devoted to Ellis’ paintings.

His works have been exhibited in U.S. embassies around the world and are in the permanent collection of the White House as well as in museums around the country.

To view Ellis’ work, click here to visit an online gallery: Geary Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 203-655-6633 or visit www.gearygallery.com.

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