Ernest L. Ipsen was an American painter specializing in portraiture. He painted hundreds of portraits commissioned by institutions of government, education, religion, and commerce who wanted to commemorate their associates. His subjects include architect Cass Gilbert, General Robert E. Lee, statesman Elihu Root, publisher George Arthur Plimpton, actor Otis Skinner, politician Edith Nourse Rogers, and Chief Justice William Howard Taft. His portrait of Maurice Francis Egan, Minister to Denmark under three U.S. presidents, was presented to the King and Queen of Denmark. He also painted landscapes and seascapes, particularly along the New England coast.