Gabriel Ellison, was a woman best known for assisting in designing the national flag of Zambia which was adopted in 1964, and for designing most of Zambia’s colourful postage stamps from the 1960s to 1980s, depicting wildlife, historical events and culture.
She died in Johannesburg on the 18th of July at the age of 87.
Mrs Gabriel Ellison’s work spanned six decades as a graphic design artist, painter and writer whose considerable contribution to Zambia helped to establish the country’s national identity and heritage.
Her work and contribution to the arts earned her the honour of Grand Officer of Distinguished Service from the government and also an MBE from the Queen of England.
As head of the Graphic Arts section of the Zambian Ministry of Information she designed banking and railway insignia, emblems, coins, honours and awards but most famously the national Coat of Arms. 
Ellison also designed the 107 cm long mace from ivory, copper and amethyst, the symbol of parliamentary authority in the National Assembly.
From 1960 to 1972 Ellison headed the Visual Art and Exhibitions Section and travelled around the world to international trade fairs and exhibitions with senior exhibitions officer, Ron Found and his assistant, Damien Kachidza.
Their work won them a number of awards, including two gold medals in Leipzig.
As an author, Ellison’s work has been published widely. She has written and illustrated a number of children’s books and authored novels as well as non-fiction works.
She has illustrated numerous guide books, including the Wildlife Society’s publications A Guide to Reptiles, Amphibians and Fishes of Zambia (1993), Common Birds of Zambia (1990) and A Guide to Common Wild Mammals of Zambia (1991).
Born Gabriel Ryan in Lusaka in 1930, her parents had settled in then Northern Rhodesia where they joined the provincial administration, after escaping from Mexico on a donkey!
She attended school in both Northern and Southern Rhodesia, but there was little art education so after school the young Gabriel took up private studies in Britain.
She married Tony Ellison, a policeman in the colonial administration in Lusaka, and attributed much of her achievement to his unwavering support.
Inspired by rural Zambia, and in particular her childhood among the Ila in Namwala, Gabriel’s art recorded momentous milestones in history as well as the normal day to day life of Zambia and its astounding wildlife.
She worked mainly with oils, acrylics, watercolours, tempera and in three dimension form.
Zambia has a brightly coloured flag full of meaning and symbolism.
The dominant green background symbolises the country's rich vegetation and agricultural wealth. The red stripe is a memorial of the struggle and blood shed in the fight for the country's liberation from colonial
The dominant green background symbolises the country's rich vegetation and agricultural wealth. The red stripe is a memorial of the struggle and blood shed in the fight for the country's liberation from colonial
The black stripe is symbolic of the original people of the land
The bright orange is a symbol of Zambia's wealth in copper - the country's number 1 income generator
The orange African fish eagle floating above the stripes is a symbol of the freedom of the people, as well as a representation of the people's ability to rise above whatever challenges that they may face as a nation
The Zambian flag, by law, can only be flown between sunrise and sunset, and on government-approved vessels and institutions.
Before Zambia was even a part of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland territory, the British South Africa Company flew it's flag in the country:
After the BSA Company relinquished control of the then called Northern Rhodesia, the flags used between 1939 and 1963 were a defaced British blue ensign. Many British colonies and territories had their flags based on it.
In 1996 the Zambian flag was slightly modified when the green colour from the flag was lightened.
Source- Lusaka Times & flagmakers
*18 July 2017
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