Carrie Ellen Montgomery (1878-?) -- student

Born in Rockford, Illinois in 1878, Carrie Ellen Montgomery gained her art training with studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, private classes in Estes Park, Colorado, and at the Stone City art colony (1932-33). Known as a painter in the realist style, Montgomery exhibited frequently at the Iowa Art Salon (1931-1935) and had a work featured in a touring, American Federation of Arts collection titled “Iowa Speaks.” She was also featured in several exhibits hosted by the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs (1932-1934). The culmination of Montgomery’s efforts occurred with a one-man show of twenty-two paintings at the Little Gallery in Cedar Rapids, organized by Edward Rowan (1932).

The wife of local, Presbyterian minister, the Reverend W.A. Montgomery, and mother to five children, Montgomery managed to pursue her art talents quite adeptly, offering lectures to clubs and public painting demonstrations. She received the 1937 Purchase Prize award from the federated clubs’ Sioux City, Iowa exhibit for her painting, “Spring Willows.” A member of the Cedar Rapids Art Association, Montgomery’s later activities remain unknown after 1940.

Online Resources on Carrie Ellen Montgomery:

AskArt.com. “"Carrie Ellen Montgomery." Available: http://www.askart.com/askart/m/carrie_ellen_montgomery/carrie_ellen_montgomery.aspx

Image courtesy of Amy Miranda and Carl Stieglitz, Iowa City, Iowa.

A Sonora Desert scene (Tucson, Arizona area) by Montgomery. Image courtesy of Amy Miranda and Carl Stieglitz, Iowa City, Iowa. 

A Sonora Desert scene (Tucson, Arizona area). Image courtesy of Amy Miranda and Carl Stieglitz, Iowa City, Iowa. 

Image courtesy of Amy Miranda and Carl Stieglitz, Iowa City, Iowa. 

A Montgomery willow painting. Image courtesy of Amy Miranda and Carl Stieglitz, Iowa City, Iowa. 

An image from Natural Bridges National Monument (Lake Powell, Utah). Image courtesy of Amy Miranda and Carl Stieglitz, Iowa City, Iowa. 

A Galena, Illinois home by Carrie E. Montgomery. Image courtesy of Amy Miranda and Carl Stieglitz, Iowa City, Iowa.