Special Alumni and Alumni Awards

Distinguished Alumni/ae

Anita Ellis

Anita J. Ellis graduated in 1970 from Ohio Dominican with a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine art and art history. She earned her master's degree in art history from the University of Cincinnati in 1975. Anita has additional coursework at various institutions including Cambridge University in Cambridge, England.

Anita is the Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Decorative Arts at the Cincinnati Art Museum where she has provided expertise and leadership with respect to exhibitions, publications, collections, development and management for nearly 30 years. A recognized authority on Cincinnati Decorative Art, especially ceramics, she has lectured extensively throughout the United Sates and is widely published in national and international art journals and magazines. In 1992 she won the Florence Roberts Head Book of the Year Award for Rookwood Pottery: The Glorious Gamble. In 1995, she published Rookwood Pottery: The Glaze Lines, which remains the most extensive handbook on the subject. And, in July 2003, her most recent book, The Ceramic Career of M.Louise McLaughlin made its debut.

Anita originated and was the Project Director for The Cincinnati Wing: The Story of Art in Cincinnati, a permanent cross-media display in 18,000 square feet of a renovated wing in the Cincinnati Art Museum. This project was awarded grants from such prestigious organizations as the Luce Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and both Planning and Implementation Grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Because of her work for The Cincinnati Wing and her active professional and community involvement, Anita received the prestigious YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award in 2004. Anita serves on the Board of Trustees for numerous organizations including The American Ceramic Circle.