Ellen Wallace was born in England in 1769, and studied drawing with artist James Sharples, becoming his third wife in 1787. The Sharples had two children who also became painters: James Jr. (b. 1788) and Rolinda (b. 1793). The family emigrated to the United States around 1794, where James and Ellen found great success with their portraiture of American leaders, most notably George Washington and his family. Ellen's career thrived in copying her husband's portraits in smaller scale. The family returned to England from 1801 to 1809, and Ellen began to exhibit her miniatures at the Royal Academy of Arts. James, Ellen, and Rolinda returned to America in 1809, where they lived in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and continued their portrait commissions. Following James Sharples death in 1811, Ellen, Rolinda, and James Jr. returned to England. Later in life, Ellen helped found the Bristol Academy for the Promotion of Fine Arts, and at her death in 1849 she left her estate to the Academy which founded Bristol's first art gallery, now the Royal West of England Academy.