page_title: Richard Ellis (Maltese photographer)
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Richard Ellis (Maltese photographer) / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: MILITARY HOSPITALS ON MALTA 1914-1918 Cottonera Hospital Ward 10.
context_page_description: Richard Ellis was a British-Maltese photographer who was one of the pioneers of photography in Malta during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in St.Luke's, East London, he travelled throughout Europe as a circus performer before settling down in Malta at the age of nineteen. Within a few years he had opened a studio in Valletta, and he became a renowned photographer. His archive of tens of thousands of photographs still exists, and his work is significant for both its historic value and technical quality. His work is now in the public domain according to the law of Malta.
context_section_description: On his arrival in Malta, James Conroy opened a Daguerreotype photography studio at 2 Strada Concezzione, Senglea  where Ellis worked as his assistant. About 1865 James Conroy moved his studio to 134, Strada Stretta, Valletta, where they specialised in ambrotypes as well as albumen print including portraits and images of warships in the Grand Harbour. By 1870 James Conroy has opened additional premises at 56, Strada Stretta where mostly carte de visite were produced.
  In 1871 Ellis set up his own studio at 43, Strada Stretta, Valletta. He was popular among both the locals and the British, since he had a British surname but was married to a Maltese woman. He soon became one of the leading photographers on the island, at a time when photography was still in its early stages. Ellis was active in multiple genres of photography, including views, portraits, still lifes and society photography. He was also proficient in developing, editing, printing, mounting and frame-making. Later on Ellis also dealt in photographic equipment.
  His work is renowned both for its historical value and also its technical quality. Ellis' clients included King George V of the United Kingdom, King Albert I of Belgium, the German emperor, the queen of Portugal and various other European royals or nobles. His work has been featured in a number of publications, including in a 1920 issue of the National Geographic magazine and many posthumous publications. He was awarded several medals and trophies at exhibitions.
  Throughout his decades-long career, Ellis created an archive of around 36,000 to 40,000 photographs, which document Malta's history during the last few decades of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th century. These record buildings, views and events, and they also show social change.
caption: Cottonera Military Hospital Ward 10, photographed by Ellis during World War I
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