Portrait of a Lady Drawing

Ellen Shire is a New York artist whose painting career melds the artistic history of the city of her birth with the historical richness of Europe. Ms. Shire, the daughter of an original Martha Graham dancer (and painter) and whose father was a founding member of the original Manhattan String Quartet, was herself a member of the New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine. She also found parallel success as the writer and illustrator of more than seven children's books - one of which was a finalist for a National Book Award. After her tenure with the NYCB, Ms. Shire divided her time between New York and Europe, focusing on abstract painting. But she continued to create amusing and serious drawings. “The funny characters I create each have a little story to tell within the framework of the drawing. I could never stop making up these characters. To stop would feel as if I had abandoned good friends. My dance training adds to my feeling for the movement of the characters I draw. “I also enjoy creating line drawings, mainly in black and white with now and then some added color for accent and contrast.” Ms. Shire’s paintings may be viewed at BIBLIOGRAPHY THE DANCING WITCH McGraw-Hill 1965 THE SNOW KINGS Walker & Company 1969 THE ADVENTURES OF MISS Walker & Company 1970 BIGLEY AND HER LITTLE STORE THE MYSTERY AT NUMBER Random House 1978 SEVEN, RUE PETITE Hamish Hamilton (England) THE CHICKEN SCANDAL Random House 1980 AT NUMBER SEVEN, Hamish Hamilton (England) RUE PETITE THE BUNGLING Little, Brown & Company 1982 BALLERINAS * Hamish Hamilton (England) _________________________ L'OURS QUI VOULAIT Éditions Fontanille 1968 JOUER TOUTE SEUL** (France) LE LAPIN ROUGE ** Éditions Fontanille 1968 _________________________ *Nominated for the 1983 American Book Award and placed on the 1983 Good Books Guide in England. ** Slide films with text supplements for schools.