Ellen Carter (née Vavasour; 1762 – 22 September 1815) was an English artist and book illustrator. Carter was the daughter of Walter Vavasour of Weston in Yorkshire, and Ellen, his wife, daughter of Edward Elmsall of Thornhill in the same county. She was born in 1762, and baptised at

St Olave's Church, York St Olave's Church, York (pronounced Olive) is a Grade I listed parish church of the Church of England in York. It is situated on Marygate, by St Mary's Abbey. History St Olave's Church is situated within St Mary's Abbey walls, which was ru ...

, on 16 May. At an early age, though a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, she was placed in a convent at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, with which her family had been connected for some generations. Though strongly affected by the surrounding influence of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

religion, she never actually forsook her own religion, and after her return to England she became well known for her devotion to her church. In November 1787, she married the curate of Thornhill, the Rev. John Carter. Her husband became the head-master of

Lincoln Grammar School Lincoln Grammar School or Lincoln Free School was formed as the result of the amalgamation of the Lincoln City Free School and the Lincoln Chapter Grammar School. The amalgamation occurred in January 1584, but the two schools may have been effec ...

, and incumbent of St. Swithin's church. Carter was devoted to artistic pursuits, and particularly excelled in drawing the human figure. She drew illustrations for the ''Archæologia'', ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'', and other similar works. A print was published from a design by her, entitled ‘The Gardener's Girl,’ intended as a companion to Thomas Barker's ‘Woodboy.’ Her drawings were frequently in private collections. Her devotion to her art took a toll on her health. The death of her eldest son gave her a shock from which she never recovered. She died on 22 September 1815 and was buried in the churchyard of St. Peter in Eastgate, Lincoln.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Ellen 1762 births 1815 deaths 18th-century English women artists 19th-century English women artists