Born in Germantown, PA on Jan. 30, 1902. Elise Seeds studied with Daniel Garber, Hugh Breckenridge, and at the PAFA. In the 1920s she also studied dance with Isadora Duncan and acted as W.C. Fields' comic partner in the Ziegfield Follies. After settling in Los Angeles in the 1930s, she was active in the local art scene and on the Public Works of Art Project. Six feet tall and eccentric, during the 1930s she sported purple hair. Her married names included Elise Cavanna, Mrs. Merle Armitage, and Mrs. James B. Welton. The artist died in Los Angeles on May 12, 1963. A modernist, her works are mostly abstractions. Exh: Fifty Prints of the Year, 1933-35; Ebell Club (LA), 1935 (1st prize); Calif. Pacific Int'l Expo (San Diego), 1935; Antheil Gallery (LA), 1938 (solo); NY World's Fair, 1939; LA AA, 1941; Forsythe Gallery (LA), 1950 (solo). Murals: Exposition Park (LA); Oceanside (CA) Post Office; Beverly Hills Post Office.Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"Who's Who in American Art 1938-53.