How Fort Worth Collector Robert A. Ellison, Jr. Helped Define a Transformative Era in New York Art

In the late 1950s, New York City stood at the center of the Abstract Expressionist movement, where the right connections could lead to private gatherings with artists like Milton Resnick, Willem de Kooning, and Wolf Kahn. Deeply immersed in that downtown Manhattan art scene was Fort Worth native Robert A. Ellison, Jr., a talented painter and collector who befriended many of the era’s now-renowned artists.

Works by 15 American artists — all part of Ellison’s estate — are currently on display at New York City’s Schoelkopf Gallery, with around 50 works available for sale. Gallery owner Andrew Schoelkopf, who grew up around Ellison through his father’s close friendship with the collector, says the idea for the exhibition originated in 2019 through conversations with Ellison, known as “Bob” to friends. Ellison died in 2021 at age 89.

“He was really interested in cataloging his art, particularly so his daughter, Hillary Ellison, could better understand it,” Schoelkopf tells PaperCity Fort Worth.

“New York City Circa 1960: Works from the Collection of Robert A. Ellison, Jr.,” he continues, “captures Ellison’s world, one where he found himself at the center of a movement that would shape modern art across the globe.”

“Bob wanted to be these artists’ partner, collaborator, and patron, kind of all at the same time,” he says, adding that Ellison’s reputation as a painter is growing posthumously.

From Fort Worth Furniture Heir to Influential New York Collector

Born in 1932 in Fort Worth, Ellison served in the Navy before graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in philosophy. Although his family founded Ellison Furniture & Carpet Co. in 1888, his interests lay in art and ceramics.

In the 1950s, he spent a year in New York City, where he befriended influential abstract artists, before returning to Fort Worth to open Ellison Gallery at his family’s store in 1958. In 1962, he returned to New York, moving into a Lower East Side loft and focusing on collecting art and painting his own abstract works.

Ellison became close friends with art dealer Robert Schoelkopf Jr., Andrew Schoelkopf’s father. Growing up in the 1970s, Schoelkopf remembers Ellison as “quiet and reserved.”

“We looked at art nonstop,” he continues. “We tagged along to various antique shows where Bob was looking for ceramics. Those were fun adventures for us as kids. My father and Bob also had interests in poetry and music.”

The gallery owner says Ellison had a remarkably intuitive eye for art and objects, often recognizing quality through form, texture, and craftsmanship long before the broader art world caught on.

The Lasting Legacy of Robert A. Ellison, Jr.

Toward the end of his life, Ellison became increasingly focused on sharing the knowledge he had accumulated over decades in the art world. According to Schoelkopf, he grew especially interested in ceramics later in life and became eager to help others better understand the medium and the collection he spent years building. Ellison also spent more time reflecting on his Fort Worth roots in his later years and wanted his daughter to maintain a connection to Texas.

In 2009, Ellison gifted 300 American ceramics to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. That donation, along with additional gifts from Ellison over the years, helped make the New York museum one of the greatest repositories of Art Pottery in the world.

Schoelkopf says all of Ellison’s own paintings installed in the show have sold, signaling growing recognition of the Fort Worth native’s place in the fine art world beyond collecting. Seeing Ellison’s widow, daughter, and close friends gather at Schoelkopf Gallery has also served as a heartwarming reminder of the ways the Fort Worthian personally and professionally impacted those around him.

“The opening felt like a homecoming,” says Schoelkopf. “It felt like stepping back into another era.”

New York City Circa 1960 is on display at Schoelkopf Gallery in New York through July 2, 2026.