llis Tristram
(Great Malvern 1844 - London 1922)
The Bosphorus, Constantinople
Biography
Ellis began his career as an engineer working on the District and Metropolitan Railways in London, carrying out several minor engineering projects. In 1874 after deciding to become an artist he entered Bonnat’s studio in Paris to study painting. Four years later he visited Cyprus. This was the first of many journeys that took him to Syria (1880), Egypt (1881-1882), Palestine, Beirut, Jerusalem, Morocco, Greece and Turkey (1885-1886) as well as Russia (1896 and 1898) and Portugal. His extensive travel provided him with the subject matter for most of his paintings and drawings.
Ellis wrote several books including On a Raft and Through the Desert (1881) an account of his journey in 1880 through northern Syria, Kurdistan, and Lebanon, which he illustrated with thirty-eight etchings. Other illustrated books include Egyptian Tales. In 1887 he was elected to the Royal Society.