Ray Ellis is widely recognized for the originality of his paintings. His work has been sought out for many museum and private collections in the United States and abroad. Ellis was born in Philadelphia and attended the famed Philadelphia Museum School of Art. His first one-man show was held in 1947 at the Pennsylvania Academy. After serving four years in the Coast Guard during WWII, he founded his own advertising agency in New Jersey and New York, but continued to paint in his spare time. During this period and since, he has been elected to the American Watercolor Society, the Artist’s Fellowship, the National Arts Club and the Salmagundi Club. His works Have been widely exhibited and received numerous honors. In 1969, Ellis was able to devote all his time to painting. In 1974, he moved south to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and then to Savannah, Georgia. Ellis has published a distinguished series of fine art books. The collaboration of Ellis’ paintings and Walter Cronkite’s texts yielded three books celebrating America’s coastlines: South by Southeast, North by Northeast, and Westwind. 1995 Commissioned by Arts Ashore – large oil paintings/ limited edition prints, of Olympic sailing trials 1995, Savannah, GA 1993 Elected to the Board of Governors of the National Art Museum of Sport; Indianapolis, IN 1986 Received the Governor’s Award for Contribution to the Arts in Georgia, from Governor J. Frank Harris 1983 Elected President of the Savannah Art Association 1973-77 Member of Board of Directors – Arts Council of the Morris Area, NJ 1972 President of the Artist’s Fellowship 1971-73 Trustee of the duCret School 1970 Elected member of the Audubon Artists Elected member of the National Artists Club 1969 Elected member of the American Watercolor Society 1964 Elected member of the Salmagundi Club; New York, NY 1963 One-man exhibition- Chatham, NJ 1961-62 Elected President of the New Jersey Watercolor Society 1960 Elected member of the New Jersey Watercolor Society 1958 Elected President of the New Jersey Industrial Advertising Society 1957 “Advertising Man of the Year” of New Jersey 1954 Founded Ellis Advertising in New Jersey and New York 1947 One-man exhibition – Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; Philadelphia, PA 1942-45 Contributing artist to the U.S. Coast Guard magazine. Served four years with the Coast Guard – three years sea duty 1940-41 Art Department – Philadelphia Evening Ledger 1939-41 Philadelphia Museum School of Art; Philadelphia, PA 1921 Born in Philadelphia, PA Museum Collections National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum; Cooperstown, NY - “Connie Mack in the Dugout” Heckscher Museum; Huntington, NY - “Sutton Place in Winter” New England Sports Museum; Boston, MA - “Defending the Green Monster” University of Nebraska Art Museum - “Black Hills of Dakota” Farnsworth Museum; Rockland, ME - “Cove Fire” Morris Museum; Morristown, NJ - “Beyond the Dam” Columbus Museum; Columbus, GA - “View From the Light” Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences; Savannah, GA - “Winter Window” Select Corporate Collections First Savannah Bank Hoffmann LaRoche Johnson Higgins Allied Corporation Alabama Power Company North Carolina National Bank McGraw Hill Publishers Rolex, Inc. MidAtlantic Bank Select Private Collections Mr. and Mrs. John Akers Sir John Conant Ms. Eileen Ford Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Knoll President and Mrs. George Bush Mr. Everet Kinstler Mr. and Mrs. Ira Koger Mrs. William LaRoche Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cronkite Mr. Robert Urich Mr. and Mrs. Richard Krementz Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Boardman