Among the most talented stained
glass artists of the twentieth century, Ellen Simon, a native of Toronto,
created the "Nativity Scene" illustrated on the U.S.-rate stamp in the
Christmas series. Designed by Simon, this window was executed by one of
her teachers, Yvonne Williams, prior to 1954. It resides in the United
Church in Leith, Ontario north of Owen Sound. Simon's work
"The Holy Family," designed for the Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto around 1960, appears on the cover of the 52-cent stamp booklet.
Born in 1915, Simon was educated at the Ontario College of Art and
the Art Students League of New York. Her noted works include stained
glass windows in Toronto's Trinity College and the Princeton University Chapel.
Simon has also created book and magazine illustrations, and has
lithographs in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada
and the Toronto Art Gallery. Though she resides in New York City, Simon
writes that she is "very much a Canadian citizen."
