Rosemary Ellis facts for kids

Rosemary Ellis was a talented British artist, graphic designer, and teacher. She was born in 1910 and lived until 1998. She became famous for her amazing posters and the designs she created for book covers.

Early Life and Art School

Rosemary was born in London, England. From 1927 to 1931, she studied art at the Regent Street Polytechnic in central London. While at art school, she met Clifford Ellis, who would become her husband. They got married in 1931 and often worked together on art projects.

Working Together as Artists

Rosemary and Clifford Ellis were a great team. During the 1930s, they created more than twenty posters for London Transport. These posters often used a style called surrealism, which mixes real things with dream-like images. One example is their 1937 poster called Travels in time on your doorstep.

They also designed posters for other big organizations like the General Post Office and BP. They even made a series of 16 special pictures called lithographs for J Lyons & Co restaurants. Starting in 1934, they designed a series of posters called 'Professions' for Shell-Mex & BP, with one famous example being Anglers Prefer Shell.

The couple also worked on designs for book covers, large wall paintings (murals), and mosaics. They always signed their work with the special symbol C&RE. This showed that both Clifford and Rosemary were equally involved in creating the art.

Teaching and Later Work

From 1938 onwards, Rosemary Ellis taught art at the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army in Bath. Her husband, Clifford, also taught at the Bath Academy of Art, where Rosemary later taught different subjects too.

During World War Two, Rosemary helped with a project called Recording Britain. She drew pictures of buildings and scenes in Bath for this project. In 1946, the Ellises designed the entrance and a mural for a special exhibition called Britain Can Make It at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Between 1945 and 1982, Rosemary and Clifford designed a total of 86 covers for a popular series of books called New Naturalist. These books were published by Collins and focused on nature.

Where to See Her Art

You can find examples of Rosemary Ellis's designs in several important places:

• The British Museum
• The London Transport Museum
• The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Victoria Art Gallery and Bath Record Office also keep collections of Rosemary Ellis's papers and designs.