Ellen Auensen is a Norwegian illustrator.

She was born in Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

. She finished

Examen artium

Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...

 her secondary education at Oslo Cathedral School in 1963, and graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry

The Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry was established in 1818.In 1996 the National Academy of Craft and Art Industry became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts .-Noted alumni:-External links:*...

 in 1968. In the same year she was hired as an illustrator and political cartoonist in the newspaper Morgenbladet

Morgenbladet

Morgenbladet is a Norwegian weekly newspaper. It was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg, and was the country's first daily newspaper. For a long time, it was also the country's biggest newspaper. It was closed down by the German Wehrmacht during World War II...

. She was awarded the Narvesen Prize

Narvesen Prize

The Narvesen Prize was a Norwegian prize for those who excelled in journalism. It was established in 1954 by the company Narvesen, but the Norwegian Press Association was behind the selection of winners...

 in 1973. She was the only female illustrator to win this award; two men Gösta Hammarlund

Gösta Hammarlund

Gösta Hammarlund was a Norwegian illustrator and journalist. He was born in Sweden, the son of ship owner Thomas Fredrik Olsen. He worked in the shipping business and in his father's company until 1937. He started working for the newspaper Dagbladet in 1940, and eventually had his own daily...

 and Henry Imsland

Henry Imsland

Henry Imsland was a Norwegian illustrator.He was born in Stavanger as a son of Jacob Imsland and Henriette Knudsen . He married Dorthea Grude . He became deaf at the age of nine, but dedicated himself to drawing...

 won it in the 1950s. Some of her political cartoons were released as books with writings by Knut Bøckman: Ellen 72: Se Norges blomsterdal (1972), Ellen 73: Mot den evige sne (1973) and Ellen 75: I hine hårde dage (1975).

From 1978 to 1990 she lived in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and worked for Sveriges Radio

Sveriges Radio

Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...

and Swedish publishing houses. When returning to Norway, she mainly illustrated book covers after 1990.