Two full-time painters, each with a separate studio in the same 850 square feet, five blocks from the White House. Between them, more than 21,500 original paintings sold directly to collectors, and work shown in museums in the United States and Europe.
Combined totals for both artists. See every show, article and project:
Matt Sesow's Identical Twins (2016), on loan from the American Visionary Art Museum, hangs beside Alice Neel's The De Vegh Twins.
“Washington, DC-based self-taught artist Matt Sesow … whose powerful, expressive paintings emerged in 1994 as a deeply personal journey of self-expression.”New Bedford Art Museum
Met us in New Bedford? Welcome. Start with Matt's newest paintings or Dana's. Both add new work several times a week.
No gallery markup. Buy directly from the people who painted it.
New work several times a week: new.sesow.com · new.danaellyn.com
Bold, emotionally charged paintings that confront personal trauma, politics, and the absurd. At age eight, Sesow lost his dominant left hand to the propeller of a landing plane. He began painting in 1994, at 28, and has painted nearly every day since. His recurring symbols, including trauma cups, bunnies, and defiant figures, run through more than 17,000 original paintings sold directly to collectors.
Narrative, research-driven paintings that take on politics, religion, animal rights, and feminism, alongside art for art's sake. Ellyn holds a BA in Fine Arts and Art History from George Washington University (1992), has made art in DC since 1989, and has painted daily since going full time in 2002. She has sold more than 4,500 original paintings directly to collectors.
916 G Street NW, Washington, DC: five blocks from the White House and beside the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. They live here around the clock, in 850 square feet split into two separate studios.
Studio visits by appointment.
Schedule a studio visitMatt Sesow and Dana Ellyn each moved to Washington, DC in 1989, years before they met. They married in 2010. They paint independently, each with a distinct vision, and together in collaborative series.
Both sell directly to collectors through their own websites and ship original paintings around the world.
Two painters, two separate studios, one shared home. Every so often, their work meets on the same canvas.
The two painters work over and into each other's paintings, reimagining portraits, religious figures, and historical imagery. About 435 paintings so far. The Sideshow at the American Visionary Art Museum has bought 35.
View DEFILED paintings
Started in 2003 in response to the Iraq War. Every day in July, each artist made a painting from that morning's news. By 2013 the project had produced 620 paintings on war, politics, and world events.
Visit 31 Days in July
