Ella and Nelia Casella (1858-1946 and 1859-1950) were British artists, sculptors, and

medalist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

s, known for their collaborative work. Both sisters worked frequently in wax, creating portraits which are now held by the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. They worked together on a variety of illustrations and medal commissions.

Career

Ella (3 January 1858 – 3 September 1946) and Nelia Casella (23 July 1859 – 29 April 1950) studied at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

under the tutelage of Alphonse Legros. Commissions to the sisters were usually answered in correspondence by 'Miss Casella' and so it is difficult to know which sister was the correspondent.

Jackson-Gwilt Medal

In 1895, the Casella sisters were commissioned by the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

to create the medal for the Jackson-Gwilt Prize in Astronomy.

Artwork

Ella Casella

* Relief of St. George and the Dragon, 1897,

* Woman in Renaissance Costume, 1890-1900,

* Stained holly wood box, 1900,

*Euterpe, 1901

Nelia Casella

* Gilt and enamel bottle, 1892,

* Man in Renaissance Costume, 1899,

* Illustrations to

Percy Pitt Percy Pitt (4 January 1869 – 23 November 1932) was an English organist, conductor, composer, and Director of Music of the BBC from 1924 to 1930. Biography A native of London, Pitt studied music in Europe at the Leipzig conservatory, t ...

's score for ''Cinderella'', 1900 * Boy Holding a Rose, 1903,

* Carnations, 1907,

* Silvia Bella, 1908,

* Dante

Joint work by the Casella sisters

* Illustrations for 'Dreams, Dances and Disappointments' (1881) and 'The Maypole' (1882) by Gertrude A. Konstam * The Charcot Medal, late 19th Century, examples in:

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

* The Jackson-Gwilt Medal, 1897 * Italian Renaissance Lady and Gentleman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casella Sisters, The 19th-century English women artists 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Artists from London British numismatists Exonumia Medallists Sibling artists Sister duos Women numismatists