Eleanor Haas was born Eleanor Pauling French on September 11, 1919 in Bay City, MI. She grew up in the Midwest before moving the west coast to attend Stanford for her BA. For her MFA she attended the Art Center in Pasadena, CA. Around this time she met Lez Haas and the two were married on June 11, 1941. Soon after, Eleanor gave birth to their first child, Averill. While her husband began teaching at the University of New Mexico, she stayed at home working on her art and caring for the baby. In 1949, she had a son, Jonathan, the final addition to the family. At this time the whole family moved about the southwest, giving Eleanor inspiration and she continued working on her art. She stayed with Lez until his retirement at which time they moved to El Rito, NM. There she painted and drew for as long as she possibly could. Eleanor Haas passed away in 2001.
Eleanor used several media in her art including oil paint, pen and ink, and charcoal. Images of her art are available to see in the photo gallery of this website.