Fremont Ellis: Capturing the Essence of Place

From small Montana mining towns to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fremont Ellis’s early years were directed by his father’s nomadic career as a dentist, carnival worker, and theater operator. Once young Fremont reached New York City at age 14 and discovered the work of Albert Bierstadt, he was inspired to paint.

Chimayo Road, oil on board, 20 x 24 in.

Paint he did. Throughout his stay in New York, the budding artist obsessively copied works in the museum. He even studied at the Art Students’ League of New York for three months before dropping out. 

When he returned to Montana, he continued to paint—but when it was time to choose a career path, practicality reigned supreme. Fremont Ellis would study to become an optometrist.

Adobe Village, oil on board, 25 x 30 in.

After completing eight months of a nine-month optometry course, Ellis opened a practice in El Paso, Texas, but the business fizzled out almost as quickly as it began. He then ventured to Santa Fe where he managed to get married, but wasn’t yet able to launch a successful art career. 

In California, he finally got lucky with photography. This new skill unlocked something for the artist, allowing him to see composition in a novel way, which translated to his painting. Ellis went back to Santa Fe to give art another earnest try—and this time, it stuck.

Forest Gulch in Spring, oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in.

By 1921, Ellis helped co-found an artists’ group in the burgeoning art colony—Los Cinco Pintores, or the “five painters”. The group included Will Shuster, Walter Mruk, Josef Bakos, and Willard Nash, and operated out of their compound of adobe homes on Camino de Monte Sol.

Cabin in the Woods, oil on canvas, 20 x 28 in.

Though the group disbanded in 1926, Ellis’s time exhibiting with them raised his profile—and confidence. His self-taught talents as a landscape artist had continuously grown, and his style solidified into one both elegant and instantly recognizable. Today, Ellis’s work is still remarkable for its unique palettes and energy, capturing the essence of the setting with visionary precision.