Ethel R. Wallace

Ethel R. Wallace was a modernist that worked in several media, including batik, textiles, and landscape and portrait painting. After studying still life painting with William Langson Lathrop and attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Wallace moved to New York City. There, she was influenced by the futurism of Joseph Stella. She was also acquainted with vocalist Eva Gauthier, who introduced her to the Javanese process of batik, which was a method of dying textiles. Wallace's textile art, specifically with batik on velvet and silk, pioneered the process and concept of batik portraits, and brought her great renown during the 1920s. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art, notably mounted an exhibition of Wallace's work in her New York studio. Additionally, Wallace exhibited in New York, London, and Paris. In 1925, she returned to New Hope from Europe and settled in a remodeled building near her father's grist mill. While there, she worked with Charles F. Ramsey and other artists on a collection of designs for batik curtains. One of her last major undertakings was a batik painting on velvet for the Governor's chair in the Pennsylvania Legislature, executed in the 1940s.
In 2023, the James A. Michener Art Museum held the first major solo exhibition of Ethel Wallace's work, called Ethel Wallace: Modern Rebel. A catalog with the same name and published by the Museum accompanied the exhibition.

Education and Training
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1905-1911, 1916-1917

Teachers and Influences
William L. Lathrop, C.F. Ramsey, Joseph Stella, Eva Gauthier
Henry McCarter, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Connection to Bucks County
After returning from Europe in 1925, Wallace settled in New Hope, which was her primary residence until her death in 1968. There, she worked with Charles F. Ramsey and other artists on a collection of designs for batik curtains. In 1958, Wallace had a one-person exhibition of eighteen works, including portraits of Joseph Stella and Eva Gauthier, at the Charles Fourth Gallery in New Hope.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Wallace was associated with the New Hope Modernists and worked collaboratively with Charles F. Ramsey and Camilo Calleja (Calleja Enright) on designs for batik curtains and hangings. She was also a close friend of artist Emmasita R. Corson, a fellow student of Lathrop. Wallace was married to Nathan Roberts, who died in 1930.

Major Solo Exhibitions
Retrospective Show of Batiks and Paintings by Ethel Wallace, Charles Fourth Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1958
Ethel Wallace: Modern Rebel, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA., 2023 - 2024

Major Group Exhibitions
Biennial Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, New York, Summer Noon, 1914
Early Women Artists of Bucks County, Bucks County Council on the Arts, Rodman House, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1979
Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective Art Exhibition, The Phillips' Mill Community Association, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1979
The New Hope Modernists: 1917-1950, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1991

Commissions
Created a batik painting on velvet for the governor's chair in the Pennsylvania legislature, 1940s