Walter Ellison

The Life and Early Years of Walter Ellison

Walter Ellison was born in 1899 in Eatonton, Georgia. In those early years, his life was shaped by the physical labor of the South. Census and draft records show him working as a farm hand, a role that grounded his early existence in the soil and the seasonal rhythms of rural life. He was eighteen when the world changed with the onset of the First World War, a time when the movement of people across the country began to shift toward the North.

By the early 1920s, Ellison made the decision to leave Georgia behind. He boarded a train heading toward Chicago, joining the many others who sought a different kind of life in the industrial cities. This move was driven by a search for both a job and an education. He left the familiar landscapes of his birth for the crowded, bustling streets of the North, carrying his belongings toward a new start in a place where the opportunities were different from the fields of Eatonton.

Training and Artistic Activity in Chicago

After arriving in Chicago from the South, Ellison sought out formal instruction to refine his craft. He spent time in classrooms at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at Hull House. These spaces provided the technical grounding for a man who had previously worked as a farm hand in Georgia. His presence in the city was marked by a steady engagement with the local art scene, moving from student to a working professional within the city's creative circles.

His work became part of the institutional fabric of the city through the Illinois Art Project of the WPA. This employment allowed him to remain active in the urban landscape during a period of significant social change. He was also a founding member of the South Side Community Art Center, a space that became a central hub for Black artists. During the 1940s, he remained a consistent figure within this center, contributing to the community's artistic life alongside other local creators.

Key Works and Artistic Themes

Ellison’s work often focuses on the quiet, intimate moments of life. He had a way of capturing the shared experiences of African Americans moving from the rural South to northern cities. His paintings are often small in scale, focusing on the private details of daily existence rather than grand scenes. He looked closely at the people navigating a changing country, recording the subtle shifts in their lives and the spaces they occupied.

In his most recognized painting, Train Station, the scene is set on a platform in Macon, Georgia. The composition divides the space: on one side, white people head south for holidays; on the other, African Americans carry their luggage, boarding trains for a new start in the North. It is a study of movement and the different directions people take. Another work from 1937 shows an African American woman in a beautician's chair. Her eyes are closed as a beautician's hands massage her temples. The focus rests on the details of the hands and the red centers and white tips of a French manicure, capturing a moment where the woman seems far away from her immediate surroundings.

• Train Station, 1935
• Untitled, 1937

Where to See the Works Today

The Art Institute of Chicago holds the most significant collection of his pieces. Within its walls, three specific works remain available for viewing. You can find Train Station, an oil on cardboard, which captures a moment of transition on a platform. Nearby, the monotype The Sunny South is rendered on cream Japanese paper. Another piece in the collection is Til We Meet Again, created with oil and sand on cardboard.

These works reside in Chicago, the city where he once studied and lived. Seeing them in person allows for a closer look at the textures he used, such as the sand mixed into the oil. The physical presence of these objects provides a direct connection to the materials he chose during his time in the North.