Elisabetta Keller, also known as Elisabeth Keller, (6 July 1891 – 19 February 1969) was a Swiss artist born in Italy and a founder of the Italian

Soroptimist Club Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

. Keller worked in many media, but preferred

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

s. Though she created landscapes and still life, she was noted for her portraits, which were often of the upper-class and bourgeoisie of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. Among her subjects were her close friend, the poet

Delio Tessa Delio Tessa (18 November 1886 – 21 September 1939) was an Italian poet from Milan. Biography He studied at the High school Beccaria in Milan and graduated as a lawyer in the University of Pavia. After University studies he did not like th ...

, and

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, a long-time family friend. The Soroptimist Club of Milan, the first Soroptimist club in Italy, was organized during a series of meetings held at Keller's residence in 1928. Besides Keller, the first 25 members included the composer

Giulia Recli Giulia Recli (1890 – 19 December 1970) was an Italian composer and essayist. Born in Milan, Recli was a student under Ildebrando Pizzetti and Victor de Sabata, learning piano, composition and singing. She was awarded first and second prizes a ...

and the writer Ada Negri. In 1931, Elisabeth Keller became the second president of the organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Elisabeth 1891 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Swiss women artists 20th-century Italian women artists People from Monza