Clara Ellis (19th Century)
- Clara Ellis (19th Century)
- California Quail and Chicks
- Oil on canvas
- 14 1/4 x 18 1/4 inches
- Signed and dated 1878, lower right
Clara Ellis studied in the Woman’s Art Department at the Cooper Institute. She received her certificate in 1872.1 In 1873, during the 14th annual reception of the department she was awarded second prize for her cast drawing of the Venus de Milo. The Ladies exhibition, according to Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, drew a crowd numbering close to ten thousand people.2 While little else is known about the artist’s life, she appears to have moved to the West Coast where California Quail and Chicks was likely painted. An archival city directory indicates that she was residing in Oakland, California in 1878.3
