Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Ellen Bernard THOMPSON
Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle was born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia on November 11, 1876 to Newcomb Butler and Kate Ashton Thompson. She had two younger sisters, Edith (Montgomery) and Katherine (Mallery). Ellen showed an interest in art in her teens, and by 1895, she was an art student at Drexel University, where she first studied with Lydia Austin (Parrish) and Charles Grafly. By 1898, she had become one of Howard Pyle's pupils. She was a talented student, and she was one of a dozen students invited to attend Howard Pyle's summer art school in Chadds Ford, PA in 1898 and 1899. Her paintings were also shown in class exhibits and published in books and magazines (see the bibliography). It was while she studied with Howard Pyle that she met his youngest brother, Walter, who was 17 years Ellen's senior and married. Ellen returned to her parents' home in Philadelphia around 1901, and she continued her illustration work there. Walter Pyle's wife died tragically in 1903, but Ellen did not hear this news until months later when Walter contacted her. Ellen and Walter married a year later and bought a house in Wilmington. After her marriage, Ellen had a few illustrations published, but she stopped painting to raise her family of four children. A son, Walter Pyle, Jr., was born in 1906, and three daughters—Ellen, Katie, and Caroline—followed in 1907, 1911, and 1914.
In 1918, Walter and Ellen moved to a beautiful farm in the country called Westbrae. The three-story stone house and surrounding 40 acres were a perfect place to raise children and enjoy gardening, nature, and the outdoors. Ellen and Walter were thrilled with their new home. However, just over a year later, Walter succumbed to Bright's disease, a renal condition that also took the life of his brother Howard. At the age of 42, Ellen found herself widowed with four children to raise. Eventually, she battled through her deep grief and began to rebuild her career as an illustrator. Katharine Pyle, Walter's sister, helped Ellen to find work, and, in 1922, Ellen's first cover for The Saturday Evening Post was published. Ellen's career gained momentum, and she went on to paint 40 covers for the Post, 10 dust jackets for books by Berta Ruck, and a number of other works, including covers for Parents magazine, Literary Digest, and Everybody's magazine. She frequently used her children and Wilmingtonians as models for her work. Ellen Pyle died August 1, 1936 of heart disease. She is buried with her husband in the Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery.
| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
Return to The Pennocks of Primitive Hall website.
The information in this database may contain errors. If you find any questionable data, or if you have something to add my findings, please feel free to e-mail me by clicking on the "E-MAIL" link above. Thank you!
Page built by Gedpage Version 2.21 ©2009 on 07 July 2020