Harrison Ellenshaw
Harrison Ellenshaw (born Peter Samuel Ellenshaw, July 20, 1945, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American matte painter, following his British father Peter Ellenshaw. He started his career at Walt Disney Studios. He later joined George Lucas's effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), where he produced many of the matte visual effects backgrounds for the films Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Harrison Ellenshaw
- Name
- Harrison Ellenshaw
- Birth Name
- Peter Samuel Ellenshaw
- Born
- 20 July 1945
- Birthplace
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Occupation
- Visual effects
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Harrison Ellenshaw (born Peter Samuel Ellenshaw, July 20, 1945, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American matte painter, following his British father Peter Ellenshaw. He started his career at Walt Disney Studios. He later joined George Lucas's effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), where he produced many of the matte visual effects backgrounds for the films Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Harrison Ellenshaw. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5665601 · wikipedia · Harrison Ellenshaw
In this article
Biography
Biography
He then returned to Disney and worked on the 1979 film The Black Hole, for which he and his father were nominated for an Academy Award for their work. He also worked on The Watcher in the Woods (1980), and Tron (1982), for which he was Visual Effects Supervisor, and Dick Tracy (1990). He eventually headed Disney Studio's effects department, Buena Vista Visual Effects (BVVE). Now pursuing his passion for fine art painting. His son Michael Ellenshaw has directed a short film while his sister Lynda Thompson is also a visual effects artist.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Harrison Ellenshaw • Birth Name — Peter Samuel Ellenshaw • Born — 20 July 1945 • Birthplace — Harrisburg, Pennsylvania • Occupation — Visual effects • Years Active — 1974–present • Father — Peter Ellenshaw
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976), special photographic effects - credited as P.S. Ellenshaw • Star Wars (1977), matte artist • The Black Hole (1979), matte artist and effects (Academy Award nominee for visual effects) • The Empire Strikes Back (1980), matte artist • Tron (1982), visual effects supervisor and associate producer • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), visual effects supervisor and second unit director • Dick Tracy (1990), matte artist • Prop Culture (2020), himself, Episode: "Tron"
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
18,792 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Harriet Persis HurlbutArtist
- Harrington MannArtist
- Harris BarronArtist
- Harrison Bird BrownArtist
- Harro HarringArtist
- Harry AndersonArtist
- Harry BolusArtist
- Harry Ellis WooldridgeArtist
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Harrison Ellenshaw?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.