Ellen Dudley
Ellen Marie Dudley was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1947 and graduated from LaFollette High School. She enrolled in the art program at Madison College and graduated in 1967 with a degree in commercial art. Ellen's career as a professional artist spanned over five decades, and she was accomplished in the fields of fashion illustration, technical scientific illustration, and graphic design.
After graduating from Madison College, she began her vocation as a freelance artist creating newspaper ads for multiple fashion stores in the Madison area. During the 1960s – late '70s, department stores hired Ellen as a fashion illustrator for advertising. She was loaned garments to take home to her apartment to sketch, often hiring her friends as life drawing models. At this time, there were not many full-time job opportunities for women artists. Electronic illustration and the internet had not been developed, so the fashion industry turned to local artists to hand-draw their garments. Ellen subcontracted with many Madison department stores, including The Hub, Woldenbergs, Carmen's, and Yost-Kessenich's. Once the fashion illustrations were completed, the artwork was delivered to the local newspapers' graphics department, where they added the store logos and text. Eventually, photography replaced hand-drawn illustrations, making this art form a short-lived, and important period in art history.
In late 1970, Ellen's skills in art transferred effortlessly into the digital graphic design realm. Her commercial art aptitude was recognized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Information Technology, where she was hired for print and digital design publications, and worked for 33 years as a senior graphic designer. Ellen was also a skilled technical scientific illustrator. Her talents were sought out by university professors, where she illustrated graphics for botany, biology, physics, and anthropology textbooks. During her career in graphic design, Ellen won numerous awards, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors Logo and the Group Health Cooperative logo, which is still used across Wisconsin today. There is a scholarship in Ellen’s name at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, honoring her decades-long career there.
Equality, social justice, and love for all had always been the utmost important objective in Ellen's life. Friends remember her as a ray of sunshine, full of joy and love of life. Ellen's love of art, cultural expression, and creativity was a driving factor in her establishing a scholarship through the Madison College Foundation, helping students pursue their degrees in Graphic Art, Design, and Fashion, a scholarship that has been continued by her loving partner of 31 years, Terry Straavaldsen. Terry generously donated Ellen’s original fashion retail illustrations to Mount Mary University in 2024, further enriching the Mount Mary University Fashion Archive’s collection of work by women creators. Other work by Ellen Dudley is held by the Wisconsin Historical Society.
