George R. Ellis


George R. Ellis was an author, art historian and director of the Honolulu Museum of Art from 1982 to 2003.

Life

George Ellis was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He received a BA in art history from the University of Chicago in 1959 and an MFA in painting from the same institution in 1962. He began his career as a painter, but became assistant director of the Birmingham Museum of Art and then associate director of the Museum of Cultural History at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Highlights of his tenure at the Honolulu Museum of Art include establishment of the Academy Art Center at Linekona and construction of the Luce Pavilion. He served on the boards of directors of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, the East–West Center, the International Arts Society, the Japan-American Society, and the Manoa Heritage Society. In 2002, Ellis was received the Alfred Preis Award from the Hawaii Alliance for Arts Education.

Works

His publications include: