CINCINNATI, OH.- Anita J. Ellis the Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Cincinnati Art Museum will retire May 30, 2014. Ms. Ellis has provided expertise and leadership with respect to exhibitions, publications, collections development and management for 40 years. “The Cincinnati Art Museum, with its great Board, sensational staff, spectacular art collections, and the prospect of a new director, is poised to reach its greatest heights ever”, stated Ellis, “The future looks very exciting, and it is always good to leave on a high note.”

A recognized authority on Cincinnati Decorative Arts, especially ceramics, Ellis has lectured internationally and nationally, especially throughout the United States, 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 the catalog Rookwood Pottery: The Glorious Gamble; in 1995 she published Rookwood Pottery: The Glaze Lines, which remains the most extensive handbook on the subject; in 2001 she co-authored with Walter Langsam An Expression of the Community featuring Rookwood in Cincinnati’s Public Schools; and, in July 2003, her seminal book on The Ceramic Career of M. Louise McLaughlin, made its debut. Ellis’ latest publication, co-authored with Dr. Susan Meyn, is Rookwood and the American Indian: Masterpieces of American Art Pottery from the James J. Gardner Collection.

According to Ellis, the legacy she is particularly proud of is the Cincinnati Wing, Ms. Ellis originated and was the Project Director for The Cincinnati Wing: The Story of Art in Cincinnati, a nationally, precedent setting, cross-media display in 20,000 square feet of a renovated wing in the Cincinnati Art Museum. Because of her work for The Cincinnati Wing and her active professional and community involvement spanning several decades, Anita Ellis received the prestigious YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award in 2004. “I do believe that Cincinnati now recognizes its rich history, including its past and present greatness in the visual arts”, stated Ellis, “That wasn’t the case when I arrived 40 years ago. I by no means influenced this change on my own, but I like to think that I helped. I also leave the books I’ve written on Cincinnati Decorative Arts, and the many objects that were acquired through my efforts.”

“The Cincinnati Wing is one of our most treasured galleries and the mark that Anita has left on this Museum will be visible for generations to come”, said David Linnenberg, Interim Director and Chief Administrative Officer of the Cincinnati Art Museum, “Anita has cultivated a career focused on preserving the past and her involvement in this institution has been deeply appreciated. We thank Anita for her 40 years here and for all her contributions to the Museum. As she will be staying in Cincinnati, we hope to see her often and look forward to her remaining a part of the Art Museum family.”