Fred Ellis
Encyclopedia
Fred C. Ellis was an American editorial cartoonist
. He is best remembered as one of the leading radical artists of the 1920s and 1930s as an artist for various publications of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA), including stints on the staff of the CPUSA's daily newspaper.
, Illinois
in 1885. He left school after eighth grade to take a job as an office boy for Frank Lloyd Wright
. He worked later in an engraving shop and an ice cream factory before becoming a "trucker" at a meat factory
, transporting prepared meat from refrigerators to railway cars for shipment around the country.
In 1905, the 20-year old Ellis was among 20,000 Chicago packinghouse workers who went out on strike
, with the truckers seeking a pay raise from the $1.98 the workers were then averaging per 12 hour day. The strike proved to be a failure, ended by the economic pressure exerted through the hiring of strikebreakers
, and Ellis and his mates ultimately returned to work only to see their pay cut further.
Despite the poor rate of pay, Ellis nevertheless managed to save $100 over a three year period, which he chose to invest in his education. Having a proclivity for drawing, Ellis enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts where he studied art for two months, quitting after his finances were depleted.
In 1919, while working as a sign painter for the General Outdoor Advertising Company, Ellis slipped and fell five stories from a scaffold outside of a Chicago building, breaking 32 bones when he hit the asphalt below. Ellis's convalescence proved to be extensive, including six weeks in the hospital followed by two years during which he was forced to use crutches and a cane. During this period of recovery, Ellis became familiar with a new weekly magazine published by the Chicago Federation of Labor
called The New Majority — a publication which reprinted radical drawings by such leading political artists of the day as Art Young
and Boardman Robinson
. The injured sign painter began to work as a cartoonist, submitting his first political art to The New Majority.
Prominent communist labor leader William Z. Foster
was the circulation manager of The New Majority at this time, and it was through him that Ellis made contact with the Workers Party of America, which he joined in 1924. Ellis drew extensively for the Communist movement from 1923 onward, contributing material to The Daily Worker
, The Liberator
, The Labor Herald, and other publications.
In 1927, Ellis moved to New York City
to become staff cartoonist of the Workers (Communist) Party's official newspaper, The Daily Worker.
From 1930 to 1936, Ellis lived and worked in Berlin
and Moscow
, where he drew for Pravda
, Izvestiya, and the English-language Moscow Daily News.
In 1936 he returned to his job at the Daily Worker and taught at the American Artists School
, a progressive independent art school directed by Harry Gottlieb
whose board included many prominent left wing artists such as William Gropper
as well as photographer Margaret Bourke-White
.
Ellis retired in 1955.
Ellis's papers are held by Syracuse University
in Syracuse, New York
. The material includes more than 250 original cartoons, a sketchbook with more than 200 sketches, letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other material.
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
. He is best remembered as one of the leading radical artists of the 1920s and 1930s as an artist for various publications of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA), including stints on the staff of the CPUSA's daily newspaper.
Early years
Fred Ellis was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in 1885. He left school after eighth grade to take a job as an office boy for Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. He worked later in an engraving shop and an ice cream factory before becoming a "trucker" at a meat factory
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
, transporting prepared meat from refrigerators to railway cars for shipment around the country.
In 1905, the 20-year old Ellis was among 20,000 Chicago packinghouse workers who went out on strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, with the truckers seeking a pay raise from the $1.98 the workers were then averaging per 12 hour day. The strike proved to be a failure, ended by the economic pressure exerted through the hiring of strikebreakers
Strikebreaker
A strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
, and Ellis and his mates ultimately returned to work only to see their pay cut further.
Despite the poor rate of pay, Ellis nevertheless managed to save $100 over a three year period, which he chose to invest in his education. Having a proclivity for drawing, Ellis enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts where he studied art for two months, quitting after his finances were depleted.
Artistic career
After leaving school Ellis became a sign painter, specializing in the painting of large outdoor signs. He ultimately worked for 21 years at this trade.In 1919, while working as a sign painter for the General Outdoor Advertising Company, Ellis slipped and fell five stories from a scaffold outside of a Chicago building, breaking 32 bones when he hit the asphalt below. Ellis's convalescence proved to be extensive, including six weeks in the hospital followed by two years during which he was forced to use crutches and a cane. During this period of recovery, Ellis became familiar with a new weekly magazine published by the Chicago Federation of Labor
Chicago Federation of Labor
The Chicago Federation of Labor is an umbrella organization for unions in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is a subordinate body of the AFL-CIO, and as of 2011 has about 320 affiliated member unions representing half a million union members in Cook County....
called The New Majority — a publication which reprinted radical drawings by such leading political artists of the day as Art Young
Art Young
Arthur "Art" Young was an American cartoonist and writer. He is most famous for his socialist cartoons, especially those drawn for the left wing political magazine The Masses between 1911 and 1917.-Early Years:...
and Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson was a Canadian-American artist, illustrator and cartoonist.-Early years:Boardman Robinson was born September 6, 1876 in Nova Scotia, Canada. He spent his childhood in England and Canada, before coming to Boston in the first half of the 1890s...
. The injured sign painter began to work as a cartoonist, submitting his first political art to The New Majority.
Prominent communist labor leader William Z. Foster
William Z. Foster
William Foster was a radical American labor organizer and Marxist politician, whose career included a lengthy stint as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA...
was the circulation manager of The New Majority at this time, and it was through him that Ellis made contact with the Workers Party of America, which he joined in 1924. Ellis drew extensively for the Communist movement from 1923 onward, contributing material to The Daily Worker
Daily Worker
The Daily Worker was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, some attempts were made to make it appear that the paper reflected a...
, The Liberator
The Liberator (magazine)
The Liberator was a monthly socialist magazine established by Max Eastman and his sister Crystal Eastman in 1918 to continue the work of The Masses, which was shut down by the wartime mailing regulations of the U.S. government. Intensely political, the magazine included copious quantities of art,...
, The Labor Herald, and other publications.
In 1927, Ellis moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to become staff cartoonist of the Workers (Communist) Party's official newspaper, The Daily Worker.
From 1930 to 1936, Ellis lived and worked in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he drew for Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
, Izvestiya, and the English-language Moscow Daily News.
In 1936 he returned to his job at the Daily Worker and taught at the American Artists School
American Artists School
The American Artists School was a progressive independent art school in New York City associated with socialism and the American Radical movement.The school was founded in April 1936 at 131 West Fourteenth Street...
, a progressive independent art school directed by Harry Gottlieb
Harry Gottlieb
Harry Gottlieb was a painter, screen printer, lithographer, and educator based in New York City.-Biography:Harry Gottlieb was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1895. He immigrated to America in 1907, and his family settled in Minneapolis....
whose board included many prominent left wing artists such as William Gropper
William Gropper
William Victor "Bill" Gropper , was a U.S. cartoonist, painter, lithographer, and muralist. A committed radical, Gropper is best known for the political work which he contributed to such left wing publications as The Revolutionary Age, The Liberator, The New Masses, The Worker, and The Morning...
as well as photographer Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White was an American photographer and documentary photographer. She is best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet Industry, the first female war correspondent and the first female photographer for Henry Luce's Life magazine, where her...
.
Ellis retired in 1955.
Death and legacy
Fred Ellis died in 1965.Ellis's papers are held by Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. The material includes more than 250 original cartoons, a sketchbook with more than 200 sketches, letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other material.
Works
- Red Cartoons from the Daily Worker. With Jacob BurckJacob BurckJacob "Jake" Burck was an American painter, sculptor, and Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist.-Early years:Jacob Burck was born January 10, 1907, near Białystok, Poland, the son of ethnic Jewish parents, Abraham Burck and Rebecca Lev Burck...
. Sender Garlin, editor. New York: The Daily Worker, 1926.
Further reading
- Robert M. Buck, "Fred C. Ellis Plunges 5 Stories; Hits Walk: Cartoonist Escapes with Minor Fractures When Painters’ Swing Rope Breaks," The New Majority [Chicago], vol. 2, no. 5 (Aug. 2, 1919), pg. 5.
External links
- "Fred Ellis Papers: An Inventory of His Collection at Syracuse University," Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, NY.
- "Fred Ellis," Comrades in Art, www.comradesinart.net/
- "The Radical Impulse," Life of the People: Realist Prints and Drawings from the Ben and Beatrice Goldstein Collection, 1912-1948. Library of Congress digital exhibit. www.loc.gov/