About Priscilla H. Connell

Renowned commercial photographer Priscilla H. Connell gained her love of nature while growing up on a farm in Clermont County, Ohio.

As she eventually married and raised children, the love of nature that she had developed as a child never waned. She discovered her love of photography after her children entered high school, which led to her career as a nature photographer.

Her photos have appeared in Sierra Club and Audubon Society magazines and calendars and have been extensively featured in books and other prominent publications. She was presented a Roger Tory Peterson award for her work, and the U.S. Postal Service selected one of her photos for a series of four “Tropical Flowers” stamps. Her work has been exhibited at the Cincinnati Nature Center, which she avidly supported, and at the University of Michigan.

Mrs. Connell was married for 50 years to her husband, Paul, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan. The family lived in Ann Arbor while Mr. Connell was a student, and then moved to the Cincinnati, Ohio area where Mr. Connell worked as an engineer and taught high school physics.

While nature photography was Mrs. Connell’s passion, she also studied music at Northwestern University and taught and played violin with the Terrace Park Pops Orchestra.

Natural Impressions of Priscilla Harrison Connell, a book of her photographs was published in 1998, was compiled, designed and edited by two of her children, Pamlia Connell Grafe and Philip Connell. The Priscilla Harrison Connell Memorial Lecture Series has been made possible by a generous donation from her late husband, Paul Connell.

United States Postal Service stamp featuring Priscilla H. Connell's image of a tropical flower.