Ellen Nathan Singer

Ellen Nathan Singer earned her BFA in Acting from Columbia University in 1957. A year later, she enrolled at the Art Students League, where she was awarded scholarships and discovered the art of woodcut—a medium she would go on to teach at the League. Inspired by "colors that build like gels on theatre lights" and the clean elegance of graphic design, Singer found her artistic voice. Her exploration of printmaking expanded to etching and aquatint, where she embraced the challenges and rewards of working with metal plates.

Singer has been deeply involved in the printmaking community, serving for many years on the Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) council including a term as vice president. She is also a member of Audubon Artists, Allied Artists, Boston Printmakers, and a life member of the Art Students League.

The artist received fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in 2016 and 2022. She has earned numerous accolades including gold and silver medals from Audubon Artists, awards from Allied Artists, the Delta National Small Prints Purchase Award, a SAGA Award, and, most recently, the 2024 Gold Medal from the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club. Her work is included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Newark Public Library, the New York Public Library, and the Art Students League, among others.

Singer’s artistic vision is rooted in observation, emotion, and the thoughtful arrangement of images. Influenced by her Brooklyn childhood, her love of theatre and the circus, and her deep concern for the fragility of today’s world, her work reflects life's beauty, complexity, and impermanence.