| Elsie Russell was born in 1956 in Nevers, France
of French and American painter parents. Her mother Andrée Déscharnes was a graduate of
the Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris and a classically trained still life painter.
Elsie's father Alfred Russell is an acclaimed abstract expressionist painter, who in the
early 1950's switched to a figurative style inspired by the art of Hellenistic Greece. A
former "The Club" member and friend to many of the giants of abstract
expressionism in the late forties and fifties, his major legacy now is to the new
generation of artists who attended his legendary courses at Brooklyn College where he
taught for 25 years. Here, he helped to re-establish the traditional curriculum for art
students by reviving the study of anatomy and geometry as well as drawing from classical
sculpture and copying old master paintings in museums. Russell also tutored and guided his
daughter Elsie in these subjects. Elsie grew up in France, Italy and Spain as well as in NYC. She graduated from St. Stephen's School in Rome, Italy, then attended The Art Student's League of New York and Pratt Institute before continuing her studies in Paris at several private ateliers, including the Institut de Déssin Baudry and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. While still a child, Elsie was introduced to Salvador Dali through her uncle Robert Déscharnes, who was his closest friend and collaborator, and Dali encouraged Elsie to become an artist, recognizing her creative mind and her abilities as a draughtsman. Elsie Russell's work has been exhibited throughout Europe and the U.S., and is in many collections both here and abroad. Her work has also been used in numerous books and publications on Mythology and Contemporary Classicism. More Paintings by Elsie Russell
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| MYTH & ALLEGORY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TENEBREUSE PAINTINGS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| VANITAS STILL LIFE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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