Ellen Wilt

Ellen Wilt (American, 1921-2020) collection available at the Michigan Art Gallery.

Born in 1921 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ellen was a prolific artist, educator, and supporter of social causes for her entire life. She exhibited her art in hundreds of shows, and served as a teacher, educator, and mentor to thousands of people throughout her career. She grew up during the depression, and that experience, along with her parents' professions as social workers led her to support social causes. At a summer art school in 1940, she met her future husband, Richard Wilt, whom she married in 1943, settling in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1947. In 1967, at the age of 45, she headed back to school to take art classes, getting a BA in 1968 and a Master of Art in 1970 from the University of Michigan. She then taught art at Eastern Michigan University beginning in 1968, becoming an emeritus professor on her retirement in 1985.