Ellen Longsworth

Haverhill, Mass. - Ellen died peacefully in Marquette, Michigan, after a three-year battle with rheumatoid arthritis, which resulted in a rare and incurable respiratory condition. She was a native of Hicksville, Ohio, the daughter of Robert and Alice (Whitten) Longsworth. She earned a B.A. at Mt. Holyoke College and Amherst College, an M.A. in art history at the University of Chicago, and a PhD in art history at Boston University, with an emphasis on Italian Renaissance painting, sculpture, and architecture. Since the early 1970s, she lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and for 36 years taught art history at Merrimack College, where for nine years she served as chair of the Department of Fine Arts. She published numerous articles on the history of art, and since retiring from Merrimack produced a series of online presentations on art and architecture for the Beacon Hill Seminars, and for the Peter White Public Library, Marquette, Michigan. She is survived by her stepdaughter Lori Allen and her husband John Smolens, professor emeritus, Northern Michigan University. Funeral arrangements at the Grace Methodist Church in Hicksville are pending. In lieu of flowers, contributions might be made to the Nature Conservancy, Findley, Ohio.

"Beauty perishes in life, but is immortal in art." -Leonardo da Vinci.

Canale Tonella Funeral Home and Cremation Services is serving the family, where condolences may be expressed online at canalefuneral.com