She was born in Bath, England,[1] one of four daughters of the Swedish-born artist Anthony Rubens Montalba and Emeline (née Davies).

The 1871 British census shows Anthony Montalba living at 19 Arundel Gardens, Notting Hill, in London, with four daughters, all artists.

[1] Ellen studied at the South Kensington Schools, which later became the Royal College of Art, and in Europe, being based in Venice along with her family.

[3] She exhibited her work at the Woman's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

Her cremated remains were interred in the Protestant Section of Cimitero di San Michele, Venice, Italy.