Gilda Mann Ellis of Haverford was drawn to the arts as a girl, growing up in a household filled with music and art.
She went on to create hundreds of abstract oil and acrylic paintings, silk-screen prints, sculptures, and artistic photographs, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Mrs. Ellis, who was also an advocate for the arts, died Dec. 31 at age 96.
She was the former national president of the Artists Equity Association and former chair of the Fine Arts Committee of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.
Traveling the world, she was also a longtime Mummers Parade costume judge and volunteer.
Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Wynnefield and Rittenhouse Square.
She began exhibiting in 1961, using abstract images to depict real-life objects. Her painting style featured bright colors and broad strokes.
Mrs. Ellis was featured in solo shows and group exhibits in museums and galleries that spanned Philadelphia, Washington, Richmond, Va., Mexico City, and elsewhere in the United States and Mexico.
Her pieces are part of permanent museum collections in Washington, Mexico, and at Harvard University and the University of Richmond.
She also showed at the 1985 World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya.
Find out more about the life of artist Gilda Mann Ellis in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
