Ellen Irvine, Painter
1989 – 2011 U.S. Foreign Service; served as Public Affairs/Cultural Affairs Officer; posted to Mexico, France, Congo, Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Madagascar, Comoros Islands, Belgium, Ghana and Washington, D.C. Gap in show record due to diplomatic service; during this career, she completed a number of commissions and remained a prolific painter of small works.
Solo Shows
2019 (Oct-Nov) Pleiades Gallery of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
1990 (Feb-Mar) Instituto Mexicano-Norteamericano, Mexico City
1989 (Jan-Feb) The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
1983-84 (Dec-Jan) Patty Aande Gallery, San Diego, CA
1981 (Mar) Cityscapes, Mira Costa College Gallery, Oceanside, CA
1980 (Feb) “Cows” Designbank, San Diego, CA
1979 (Feb) Figure Paintings, Celebrations Gallery, San Diego, CA
1978 (May-Jun) Celebrations Gallery, San Diego, CA
1976 (Mar) Yale University Gallery, M.F.A. Thesis Show
1975 (Mar) Yale University, Art & Architecture Building
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Dec Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) annual juried Art Market, Baltimore, MD
2022 Dec Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) annual juried Art Market, Baltimore, MD
2022 Aug 2-20 Prince Street Gallery 14th Annual Juried Show, Anne Harris, Juror, New York, NY
2019 Mar 19-Apr 13 Pleiades Gallery Members, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World" New York, NY
2018 Feb 21-Mar 15 Pleiades Gallery Small Works Invitational, New York, NY
2017 Dec Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) annual juried Art Market, Baltimore, MD
2017 July 11-29, 9th National Juried Exhibition, Juror Stuart Shils, Prince Street Gallery, New York
2017 July 11-29, Small Works Invitational Exhibition, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY
2017 Jan 3-28, Juried Exhibition 2017, Juror, Priscilla Vail Caldwell, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York
2016 July 13-Aug. 6, "Summer in the City" Invitational Show, Pleiades Gallery, New York, NY
2016 Feb. 2-27, 8th Annual Juried Exhibition, Juror, Graham Nickson, Prince Street Gallery, NY
2015 (Dec) MICA annual juried Art Market, Baltimore, MD
2015 (Jan-Feb) 7th Annual Juried Exhibition, Juror Robert Berlind, Prince Street Gallery, NY, NY
2014 (Dec) Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) annual juried Art Market, Baltimore, MD
2013 Summer, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA, "Outside" an exhibit of landscapes and paintings from the collection of Douglas Simay: three paintings of cows in landscapes 16"x12" each
2001-02 U.S. Ambassador's Residence, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
1994 (May) U.S. Embassy Invitational, Paris, France
1992 (Mar) U.S. Embassy Invitational, Talleyrand Building, Paris, France
1991 Marta Varela Gallery, Mexico City
1987 (Oct-Nov) Felicita Foundation Invitational Landscape Painting Show, Escondido, CA
1986 (Nov) Laguna Beach Museum of Art Invitational, Laguna Beach, CA
1986 (Sept) MiraCosta College Faculty Show, James Crumley Gallery, CA
1986 (Jul-Sept) “Top Girls” Lyceum Theater, San Diego, CA
1985 (Nov-Dec) “ARTOY” Invitational, Installation Gallery, San Diego, CA
1985 (Nov) Laguna Beach Museum of Art Invitational, Laguna Beach, CA
1985 (Sept) MiraCosta College Faculty Show, James Crumley Gallery, CA
1985 (May-June) 16 x 26 Landscapes, Invitational, Quint Gallery, San Diego, CA
1985 (Mar-Apr) “More is More” La Jolla Athenaeum, La Jolla, CA
1985 (Feb-Mar) The San Diego Museum of Natural History Invitational
1985 (Feb-Mar) The San Diego Museum of Art Juried Exhibition (Juror, Robert MacDonald)
1984 (Sept) “Tubular Art” Invitational, Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, CA
1982 (July-Sept) Thomas Babeor Gallery, La Jolla, CA
1982 (Apr-May) Maple Creek Gallery, show coincided with debut of KPBS-TV film documentary
1981 (Sept-Oct) Maple Creek Gallery Invitational, San Diego, CA
1981 (Aug-Sept) “Parts to a Piece”, Pawn Shop Gallery, San Diego, CA
1981 (May) KPBS-TV Juried Show, Grand Prize Winner, film documentary of artist for National Public TV, San Diego, CA
1977 (Sept) Grad. School for Urban Resources Juried Show (Award), Juror, Richard Armstrong, La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
1976 (Summer) 2-person show, Phoenix-Chase Galleries, Baltimore, MD
1976 (May) Graduate Thesis Painting Show, Yale University Gallery
1976 Juried Printmakers Show, Yale University Gallery
1975 Juried Printmakers Show, Yale University Gallery
1975 Skidmore College Invitational Drawing and Print Show
1974-75 “Five Maryland Artists” Baltimore Museum of Art, one-year traveling exhibition
1974 New Painters at Yale, Yale University Gallery
1974 Maryland Institute Juried Alumni Show (Sam Gilliam Award), Baltimore, MD
1973 (Dec) Maryland Institute Juried Student Show (Award), Baltimore, MD
1973-74 Phoenix-Chase Galleries Juried Shows (Awards), Baltimore, MD
1973 (Aug) Mayor of Cannes, France, special award for painting/Miss College Internationale
Permanent Collection, Yale University Art Gallery, Prints and Drawings: Drypoint, Aug. 3, 1977 #2, "Girl at Mirror," gift of the Estate of Callista V. Clancy, 2005
Education
1971-74 The Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD, BFA summa cum laude (as Ellen Irvine Howell); in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore 1972-74, and College Internationale de Cannes, France, 1973
1974-76 Yale University Graduate School of Art, New Haven, CT, MFA (as Ellen Irvine Howell) (studied with Gabor Peterdi, William Bailey, Lester Johnson, Bernard Chaet, Gretna Campbell and Al Held)
1983 University of California at San Diego, MFA Program in Set Design for the Theater, (studied with Robert Israel), no degree
1986-87 University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, MA, International Relations
Employment
WMAR-TV, Baltimore, MD 1973-76, Courtroom Artist
Yale University 1975-76, Asst. Instructor, Basic Drawing and Life Drawing
Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Art & Culture, Artist, Mural Commission, 1976-77, Baltimore, MD
University of California at San Diego, Instructor, Portrait & Figure Painting, Winter 1978
Mira Costa College, Oceanside, CA, Instructor, Life Drawing, 1984-87
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, La Jolla, CA, Instructor, Life Drawing, Summer 1987
Marymount University, Arlington, VA, Instructor of Drawing, 1989
U.S. Foreign Service 1989-2011
Grants
Baltimore City Councilmanic Scholarship, 1971-74
Maryland State Senatorial Scholarship, 1971-74
Maryland Institute Gift, 1972
President’s Prize, Syndicat d’Initiative, Cannes, France, Painting, 1973
Yale University Scholarship and Gift, 1974-76
Fulbright Grant finalist in painting competition, 1976
Center City Ass’n., San Diego, CA, award for outstanding contribution to downtown San Diego, Sept. 1982
Mobil Oil Corporation, New York, NY, 1982
UCSD Grant, MFA program in Set Design, 1983
Combined Arts & Education Council, San Diego, CA, for art to be placed in a public place, 1984
Univ. of San Diego, Graduate Grants and Fellowships, 1986-87
Commissions
1972-76 Courtroom and Congressional Hearing drawings, U.S. and Canada
1974-76 Composite drawings for the FBI, New Haven, CT
1975 Bethany, CT, Bicentennial Mural
1976 Silverstein portrait, New Haven, CT
1976 Davis Buckley family portrait, Washington, DC
1978 Aerospace Hall of Fame, Balboa Park Air & Space Museum, San Diego, CA, portraits of Orville and Wilbur Wright
1978, 1980 Thorsnes family portraits, San Diego, CA
1979 Curtis Daughters, portrait, San Diego, CA
1979 Janet Loomis, portrait, La Jolla, CA
1982 Calvin Trillin portrait, New York, NY
1986 Rick Gulley, residential, Mission Hills, CA
1987 Felicita Foundation, Escondido, CA, Cow Mural (on canvas)
1987 Roy Bell, residential, La Jolla, CA
1991 Norma and Clint Wright, 6 x 6’ Screen, Waterlilies, Mexico City
1991 Margaret Plotkin, portrait, Mexico City
1991 Waterlily Screen and large purchase, Susan and Stuart Symington, Mexico City
Murals
1980 7th & G Sts., San Diego, CA, 25’ x 50’, Cows (destroyed 1987)
1980 Farmers’ Market, 7th & J, San Diego, Cows, 9’ x 45’ indoor
1980, 1983, Residential mural, La Jolla, CA, 7’ x 14’
1980 47th & Monroe, Organic Grocery, San Diego, 16’ x 70’
1980 5th & Island, San Diego, 11’x’70’, 11’x70’ (destroyed)
1981 Hwy. 67, El Cajon, CA, 10’ x 35’, 10’ x 64’
1981 Mira Costa College Student Center, Oceanside, CA, 12’x20’, 12’x35’, 12’x20’
1982 La Jolla Village Square, La Jolla, CA 9’ x 25’
1986 Apple Crate Ice Cream & Crumpet Co., 5th & Broadway, San Diego, mural on canvas 9’x21’, Cows
1987 Felicita Foundation, Escondido, CA, interior mural on canvas, Cows, 10’x12’
Commercial
Art Consultants West, 656 - 9th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
The Annex, 453 – 6th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
Selected jobs
Glendale Federal Savings & Loan, Burbank, CA 1986
Glendale Federal Savings & Loan, Santa Barbara, CA 1986
John Burnham & Co., new building, San Diego, CA 1986
Miller, Boyko & Bell, new building, San Diego, 1986-87
Embassy Suites Hotel, Birmingham, AL, 1986-87
Embassy Suites Hotel, Rockford, IL, 1989
Colonial Inn, La Jolla, CA, 1991
Carole Laventhol Design & Fine Art, two paintings for Trump Tower, 1999
Blouin Gallery Guide, Monthly Global Guide to Galleries and Museums, November 2019
Art in America, The Guide: Museums, Galleries, Artists, August 2019
The Washington Post, Washington, DC, Jan. 1989 “Weekend” section
Advocate, Escondido, CA, Oct. 1987, re Felicita Foundation show
Reader, San Diego, CA, June 25, 1987, re demise of Cow Mural
San Diego Union, June 22, 1987, Ann-Marie Welsh, re demise of Cow Mural
Hidden Leaves, Ilan-Lael Foundation, “Public Art,” Spring 1987
San Diego Home & Garden Magazine, Sept. 1986, Apple Crate Cow Mural
San Diego Union, Apr. 11, 1986, article on Cow Mural at Apple Crate Company, San Diego
“San Diego at Large,” CH 8-TV, Cow Mural, Feb. 1986
San Diego Union, Apr. 4, 1985, review of “More is More” by Dennis Komac
San Diego Union, March 31, 1985, Janet Sutter’s column
Los Angeles Times, Mar. 29, 1985, review of “More is More” by Matt Damsker
San Diego Union, Mar. 29, 1985, review of “More is More” by Robert L. Pincus
La Jolla Light, Local Events, “More is More” show, March 28, 1985
Reader, “The Art of Emergence,” by Dinah McNichols, Mar. 28, 1985, San Diego
Reader, Events, “More Emerged,” by Dinah McNichols, Mar. 21, 1985
San Diego Museum of Art Calendar, featured “Figures in Landscape for a Screen,” Mar. 1985
Reader, Feb, 28, 1985, Palms Show review
Tribune, San Diego, Feb. 27, 1985, “More is More” show, La Jolla, CA
San Diego Union, Feb. 27, 1985, Palms Show, Natural History Museum, David Lewinson review
San Diego Union, Feb. 24, 1985, San Diego Museum of Art juried show
ARTNEWS, Mar. 1984, review by Elise Miller of Undercurrents show, San Diego
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 13, 1984, Jeff Kelly, review of Undercurrents
Tribune, San Diego, Dec. 29, 1983, David Lewinson, review of Undercurrents
Reader, San Diego, Dec. 8, 1983, feature by Elise Miller on Undercurrents
San Diego Union, Dec. 9, 1983, Mark Elliot Lugo, review of Undercurrents
La Jolla Light, July 1983, Children’s Museum Seminar (in Irvine studio)
San Diego Union, Feb. 2, 1983, San Diego Museum of Art, Young Connoisseurs’ Tour (Irvine studio)
Tribune, San Diego, Jan. 1983, Nanette Wiser, “What’s Hot”
Tribune, San Diego, Nov. 1982, Nanette Wiser (portrait of Margarita Popova)
San Diego Union, Sunday, Aug. 15, 1982, Richard Reilly column
Los Angeles Times, San Diego Ed., Aug. 10, 1982, Elise Miller
La Jolla Light, July 1982
KPBS-TV Guide, feature, June 1982
Tribune, San Diego, Don Freeman’s column, June 1982
San Diego Union, May 1982
Tribune, San Diego, Nov. 1981
Yale AYE publication, Fall 1981, murals
Sunset Magazine, Nov. 1981
Good Morning America, morning TV news show, Oct. 1981, Cow Mural, San Diego
San Diego Magazine, Oct.-Nov. 1981, Elise Miller, critic
Sea Coast Magazine, San Diego, Feb. 1981
San Diego Magazine, Feb. 1981
ARTWEEK, Jan. 17, 1981, review by Robert McDonald, Chief Curator, La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art
Evening Tribune, San Diego, Dec. 12, 1980
Channel 10 TV, San Diego Evening News, June 1980, Cow Mural
San Diego Magazine, July 1980
San Diego Union, June 21, 1980
San Diego Union, Dec. 1979
San Diego Magazine, 1978-79
Los Angeles Times, San Diego Ed., Nov. 1978
La Jolla Light, feature by Gay Fall, Oct. 1978
San Diego Union, Richard Reilly’s column, Nov. 1977
San Diego Union, May 1977
Waterbury Republican, Waterbury, CT, Nov. 1975 (Town Mural)
Baltimore Sunpapers, June 1974