Ellen Fischer begins her artistic career at a technical school in Odense, but later she trains at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1908–1912. She studies in Paris at André Lhote's painting school and then settles - with her husband, the sculptor Adam Fischer - in the city of cities from 1913–33.

Her many years in Paris leaves a deep and lasting mark on her art, which does not immediately fit into the Danish painting tradition. In particular, Cézanne's, but also Bonnard's and Pissarro's use of color is part of her painterly language, where landscapes, installations and interiors are among the preferred subject matter. The composition here is unsurpassed in colour and shows a remarkable understanding of the study of the peculiarities of materials. References are made to the Momento Mori symbolism of Baroque art, but at the same time the juxtaposition of objects is forward-looking and almost surreal.