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Sallie Ellington Middleton

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Sallie Middleton

Sallie Ellington Middleton (February 11, 1926 - August 7, 2009) was one of the first female wildlife watercolor artists to achieve national professional status.[1] In the 1970s and 1980s, she was considered one of the most talented wildlife watercolor artists in the country.[2][3][4]

Art

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Middleton's art is included in private collections across the U.S.[5] such as the Harry Dalton Collection of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, Asheville Art Museum in Asheville, North Carolina[4] and at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, S.C. Her work appeared on the North Carolina Wildlife Magazine during the 1970s.[6]

Her work, Owl in the Apple Tree exhibited in “Watercolor, USA” by the Springfield Museum, Springfield, Ohio. Her work was featured in books and also in her biography by author Celestine Sibley, The Magical Realm of Sallie Middleton. Middleton called her watercolor technique brush drawing[7][8] using a number zero or double zero paint brush to achieve extreme detail.[9] She painted exclusively from living plants and animals and never from photographs.[10][11][12]

Apart from art, Middleton was involved in rehabilitating wildlife. As her reputation for this grew, friends and neighbors brought sick and injured animals to her to be rehabilitated and then to be painted.[13][5][14]

Early life

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Middleton grew up in Douglas Ellington House[15] designed by her uncle architect and watercolorist, Douglas Ellington.[12] She had little formal artistic training but learned to paint from her uncle.[16][17][18] She developed her eye for detail during her childhood walks with her father, Kenneth Ellington, who advised her to look closely at the details of the forest to “see the fairies”.[19][12][20][21]

Publishers

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Middleton's art was published by among others, Fine Prints Gallery, Fox Fire Fine Prints, Inc., Looking Glass Press, and Sallie Middleton Art, LLC.

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References

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  1. ^ O’Boyle, Jerome (1980). The Magical Realm of Sallie Middleton by Celestine Sibley. p. 39.
  2. ^ "Company Formed to Sell Sallie Middleton Art Aug. 07, 2005". Asheville Citizen-Times. 2005-08-07. p. 47. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  3. ^ "Asheville Citizen-Times 24 Apr 2006, page Page 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  4. ^ a b "Sallie Middleton: A Life in the Forest". Asheville Art Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  5. ^ a b "Asheville Citizen-Times 09 Aug 2009, page Page 16". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  6. ^ "Wildlife in North Carolina [1970 : March] - North Carolina Digital Collections". digital.ncdcr.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  7. ^ "The Asheville Times 09 Nov 1975, page 40". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  8. ^ Sibley, Celestine (1980). The Magical Realm of Sallie Middleton. p. 39.
  9. ^ "Asheville Citizen-Times 08 Aug 1999, page Page 40". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  10. ^ Cheek, Robert (1969). Discover the Magic of Sallie Middleton.
  11. ^ Wildlife Magazine (1977). "Quote from Marcia Martin".
  12. ^ a b c "Asheville Citizen-Times 14 Nov 1984, page Page 78". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  13. ^ Sibley, Celestine (1980). The Magical Realm of Sallie Middleton. Oxmoore House, Birmingham, Alabama. p. 44.
  14. ^ Murdock, Dana (November 14, 1984). "Sallie Middleton Relates Her Art To Childhood Stores". Asheville Citizen Times.
  15. ^ "Asheville Citizen-Times 12 Oct 1988, page Page 52". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  16. ^ "Sallie Middleton: A Life in the Forest". Blowing Rock Art & History Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  17. ^ "Asheville Citizen-Times 02 Aug 1970, page Page 31". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  18. ^ "A Delicate Nature, by Suzanna Myer". Asheville Citizen-Times. 1999-08-08.
  19. ^ "The Asheville Times 21 Aug 1974, page 1". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  20. ^ "Asheville Citizen-Times 23 Oct 2005, page Page 23". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  21. ^ "Asheville.com news: Sallie Middleton Watercolor Exhibition at NC Arboretum Begins November 20". www.asheville.com. Retrieved 2023-10-15.