Reynolds Duke - Biography

Biography of Reynolds Duke

"Our Creator's gift of nature's beauty may be portrayed through the eyes, the heart, the soul and the voice of the artist when endowed with a God given gift. The artist must neither let her talent down, nor seek to keep it for her own self -celebrity or glory. The gift of talent must be generously shared and imparted to benefit and enrich the lives of others. Thus we perpetuate an Art.”

ROSA PONSELLE
1977

Elayne Reynolds Duke was born in Baltimore, Maryland. From early childhood she was raised by her mother and father, HENRIETTE LORNE and MILTON DUKE, and the METROPOLITAN OPERA'S legendary dramatic soprano, ROSA PONSELLE, at her Greenspring Valley estate "Villa Pace". She credits her mother HENRIETTE, a prominent Maryland and National leader in musical education and musical presentment, for her consistent exposure to a high standard of excellence in the Performing and Visual Arts.

From ages eight until sixteen she studied classical violin in the studios of GEORGE STEINER and LOUIS CHESLOCK at the Peabody Institute's Preparatory department. It was during her violin studies that her Mother entered her into an Art program under the noted Baltimore Art Educator, Miss NELLIE S. NORRIS.

Under the guidance of NELLIE NORRIS, she was encouraged to continue her development FULL TIME in the Creative Arts. She left her formal education at age sixteen, successfully passed the High School Equivalency Examination, and entered Towson State Teachers' college’s Department of Fine Arts with special permission from the College's Registrar, Dr. REBECCA C.TANSIL. There she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary School Education, and thereafter was to become the College's first post graduate candidate to receive a Master's Degree in Art Education.

Encouraged by her mother, HENRIETTE and ROSA PONSELLE , and close family friend, SONIA PARR [ Mrs., Ral], Elayne was sent to Paris and Florence, Italy to study painting for the ensuing four years. There she studied at the Academies of Fine Arts in each of these cities [the Beaux Arts and the Academia delle Belle Arte]. While in Italy she was sent to Jerusalem, Israel as the Courtroom Artist for the trial of Adolph Eichman by the Baltimore News American. Her Courtroom sketches and reportage were featured in a special edition of the Newspaper.

Returning to Baltimore, and after a brief marriage, she entered the Art Students' League of New York where she spent two years studying painting under LOUIS BOUCHE and SIDNEY DICKINSON. She was also accepted as a Doctoral Candidate in the Art History Department of Johns Hopkins University where she majored in Early Netherlandish Painting and Painting of the Italian Renaissance under ADOLPH KATZENELLENBOGEN and ROGER REARICK.