Ellen Montalba

Ellen Emeline Montalba (17 February 1842 – 1912) was a British artist. She was born in Bath, England,[1] one of four daughters of the Swedish-born artist Anthony Rubens Montalba and Emeline (née Davies). She and her three sisters all attained high repute as artists. The 1871 British census shows Anthony Montalba living at 19 Arundel Gardens, Notting Hill, in London, with four daughters, all artists.[2]

Ellen Montalba
Self Portrait by Ellen Montalba, 1885
Born	Ellen Montalba 1842 Bath, England
Died	1912 Venice, Italy
Nationality	British
Known for	Painter

The Montalba sisters were regular contributors to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition during the 1870s.[1] Ellen studied at the South Kensington Schools, which later became the Royal College of Art, and in Europe, being based in Venice along with her family.[3] She painted portraits, figure studies and landscapes including life-size portraits. Among the portraits she exhibited was one of her sister Clara[1] and also one of the Princess Louise.[3] She exhibited her work at the Woman's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.[4]

Per Lady Layard's Journal available online at Baylor University, Texas, Ellen Montalba began to paint a portrait of Lady Enid Layard on 6 December 1899 and although it was deemed to be successfully completed on 15 May 1901, she was still working on a few finishing touches to Lady Layard's hands on 5 March 1902. Lady Layard's last mention of Ellen Montalba in her journal was on 13 September 1912 when she visited the Montalba family in Belluno, Italy where they had taken a house for the summer and Enid wrote 'Only Ellen was absent - not being well.'