ISAACS ART GALLERY SHOW 1968
She was involved in several exhibitions and was one of the few women to exhibit at the Isaacs Gallery in Toronto in the 1960s. She was hailed in the press as the “Free-swinging, barefoot painter” a “Housewife artist” and a “trend setter.” She also had several commissions including a large painting in the new Scarborough Post Office.
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“I have lived with two of your paintings for over forty years. I purchased them from Isaacs in the late 1960s. Your paintings have given my family and friends years of enjoyment. Your work has a relaxing spiritual quality that makes us feel peaceful. I just want to thank you.” – Dino Ricci
Newspaper Reviews:
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Scarborough Post Office commission:
Artist Ian-Patrick McAllister-“Elly was a key influence on my artistic endeavors and how I understand the artistic process. Growing up my artistic abilities were recognized and promoted by my grandmother. So drawing and painting was a part of my life as far back as I can remember. All be it very traditional… ‘see a sunset paint a sunset.’ In my early teens, though, I saw a large painting by Elly, In the Scarborough post office. The painting was like nothing I had seen or experienced before. The painting had no apparent content, other than the process of painting itself and colour. It was an artwork about the joy of making and it opened up my understanding of artistic expression. Colour and abstraction became a permanent part of my vocabulary, what I came to know as making, mapping and marking. It has been a privilege to have met and gotten to know Elly whose passion, skill and creative freedom has fortified my desire toward the pursuit of an artistic career that I enjoy now.”
