Christopher Ross (May 9, 1931 – September 17, 2023) was an American artist, designer and collector of 19th century Imperial militaria.Von Hassell, Agostino (2006). "Military High Life, Elegant Food Histories and Recipes", ''University Press of the South Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, USA''. . Ross has earned an international reputation for his 'animal' wearable fine art and portrait sculpture in the tradition of the French ''

animalier An animalier (, ) is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. "Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists. Although the work may be in any genre ...

''. His work resists easy classification as he carved out a territory of his own that crosses categories—drawing on fine art, sculpture and design. In 2023, Ross was bestowed a knighthood of the dynastic order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by the Royal House of Savoy and a Grand Cross of the Royal House of Braganza for his contributions to European art and culture and his lifelong commitment and pursuit of beauty, quality and excellence.

Life

Christopher Ross, the son of Captain Gustave Ross and grandson of New York Supreme Court Justice William P. Burr, was born at 1220 Park Avenue and raised on the Upper East Side of New York and Westport. He spent his school years at the

Fairfield Country Day School Fairfield Country Day School (FCDS) is a private, all-boys day school in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1936 by Laurence W. Gregory, the School prepares boys in Grades K-9 for secondary school success. Athletics Athletics are i ...

in Fairfield and Westport, Connecticut. Subsequently, he attended Le Chalet Marie-José private boarding school in Gstaad, Switzerland. Ross completed his school education at the

Millbrook School Millbrook School is a private, coeducational preparatory boarding school located in Stanford, New York, United States. History Millbrook School was founded in 1931 by Edward Pulling. Pulling was a graduate of both Princeton University and Cam ...

with Edward Pulling as his mentor and then attended college ( Collegiate School) in New York. Ross studied history and philosophy at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York. From 1955 to 1976, Ross was a partner at Brooks Harvey, which was then acquired by

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

. He entered a partnership with

Harry Helmsley Harry Brakmann Helmsley (March 4, 1909 – January 4, 1997) was an American real estate billionaire whose company, Helmsley-Spear, became one of the country's biggest property holders, owning the Empire State Building and many of New York's most ...

, and in 1969 they founded a company together. As an investment banker he went to South America for two years and represented the interests of Southern Railroad, Venezuela, while his sister, Vassar graduate and New York socialite Sheilah Ross, worked as a photo and cover model for ''Vogue'' and ''Harper's Bazaar'' in New York. In the mid-1970s Ross returned to the United States and devoted himself to sculpture and collecting Imperial European military art and antiques from the period of Waterloo to 1914. Ross has been awarded several design awards, such as the A'Design Award and the IDA Design Award. In 2016, he was made Hon. life fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(FRSA) and was officially selected artist for the annual summer exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture in Edinburgh. In the same year, Ross was nominated for the German Design Award in Frankfurt.

Work

Christopher Ross’ wearable luxury art collection ''Animal Instinct'' is a series of animal-inspired, limited edition pieces intricately crafted by the artist himself from antique sterling silver, 24-karat gold and his signature Bohemian glass eyes. His wearable fine art and portrait sculpture has been featured in films, booksand numerous international high-end fashion and luxury lifestyle magazines such as ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' () is a French fashion magazine with a USA edition. It has been published in Paris since 1921 and targets upper-income, educated women aged from 25 to 49. In 2006, it had a circulation of 101,719. A men's edition of ''L'Officiel'', ' ...

Madame Figaro ''Madame Figaro'' is a French magazine supplement to the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper ''Le Figaro'', focusing on and catering to women. History and profile The first edition was published in 1980. ''Madame Figaro'' was spearheaded by ...

Elle France ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

Harper’s Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' and magazine covers such as ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

'' and ''Malaysia

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

.'' His jewellery has been seen in fashion and art shows, most recently at

Fendi Fendi () is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925, Fendi is known for its fur, fur accessories, and leather goods. ...

’s Limited Edition Experiences,

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...

in Miami Beach 2009, Vendôme Luxury Paris 2010 and in 2016, at the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture in Edinburgh. His work was shown by the American fashion designer Rachel Roy at her Autumn/Winter Digital Runway Show 2013/2014, in New York City.

Public Collections

The

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

, Saint Petersburg, Russia; Musée

Palais Galliera The Palais Galliera, also formally known as the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris (City of Paris Fashion Museum), and formerly known as Musée Galliera, is a museum of fashion and fashion history located at 10, avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, ...

, Paris, France;

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 F ...

, New York; The

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, ...

, Edinburgh;

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

;

The Newark Museum of Art The Newark Museum of Art (formerly known as the Newark Museum), in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, A ...

; Kent State University Museum and MFA Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Other collections are on view at Chisholm Gallery in Wellington, Florida, USA.

Collector Connoisseur

Christopher Ross was a lifetime collector of 19th-century military art and antiques of the five major European empires; The French First and Second Empire; the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and German empires; Russia of the

Czars Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

and the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

including the

Raj Raj or RAJ may refer to: History * British Raj, the 1858–1947 rule of the British Crown over India * Company Raj, the 1757–1858 rule of the East India Company in South Asia * Licence Raj, the Indian system of elaborate licences, regulation ...

. At nine years old, Ross was inspired by his father—who fought as a soldier in the trenches at the Somme, Ypres and Château-Thierry during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

—who took him to

Bannerman's Castle Pollepel Island is a uninhabited island in the Hudson River in New York. The principal feature on the island is Bannerman's Castle, an abandoned military surplus warehouse. Description Pollepel Island has been called many different names, incl ...

and warehouse of army surplus, which ultimately led him to become a serious collector of the Imperial period. During the 1980s and '90s, Ross became an adviser to

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was a French-American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', later becoming a special c ...

and subsequently Richard Martin and

Harold Koda Harold Koda (born January 3, 1950 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American fashion scholar, curator, and the former curator-in-chief of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Career While at the costume institute, Koda curat ...

of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and objects from his private collection were on loan for several exhibitions including ''The Imperial Style: Fashions of the Hapsburg Era:

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(1979-1980),'' ''The Age of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

(1989-1990)'' and ''Swords into Ploughshares (1995)''. The

Nassau County Museum of Art The Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) is located east of New York City on the former Frick "Clayton" Estate, a property in Roslyn Harbor in the heart of Long Island’s Gold Coast. The main museum building, named in honor of art collectors a ...

in Roslyn Harbor, Long Island also used some of his historical pieces for their exhibition ''Napoleon And His Age'' in 2001. In September 1994,

Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were first ...

visited Ross' New York residence, to view his

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states ...

military art collection, as he was doing research for one of his A&E documentary series on Nicolai II Alexandrovich Romanov, the last Tsar of Russia. In 2008–2009, Ross wrote and directed a 68min. HD documentary film called ''Sweet Compulsion - A Collector’s Odyssey: a luminous portrait of a passionate and eccentric collector connoisseur'', which was shot by Viennese cinematographer Richard Ladkani and shown at Art Basel-Miami in 2009–2010.

Honours and awards

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

of the Order of Merit of the Portuguese Royal House. Knight of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the wo ...

of the Royal

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

Club Memberships

Christopher Ross was a seasoned club man, having been a lifelong member of the

Racquet and Tennis Club The Racquet and Tennis Club, familiarly known as the R&T, is a private social and athletic club at 370 Park Avenue, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. History The Racquet Court Club opened in 1876 at 55 We ...

at 370 Park Avenue, New York; the

Squadron A Squadron A refers to the historic cavalry unit of New York City's Upper East Side. Squadron A originated with a group of wealthy young gentlemen with great interest in Equestrianism, equestrian sport who formed themselves into a group called the ' ...

Association, New York and the Cavalry & Guards Club in London, United Kingdom.''Sweet Compulsion - A Collector’s Odyssey'' documentary film by Christopher Ross. Cinematography by Richard Ladkani, 2008–2009.

Press - Catalogues - Directories

* Algemeines Künstlerlexikon - Internationale Künstlerdatenbank (AKL–IKD). Walter De Gruyter GmbH, BERLIN/GERMANY, 2021 * Ulrich Goette Himmelblau: Who's Who in Visual Art / 100 Top Fine Artists of Our Day. Art Domain Publisher, QUEDLINBURG/GERMANY, 2017 * GrupoDuplex: Joyería Contemporánea. BARCELONA/SPAIN, 2016 Dep. Legal.: SA-555-2011 * DesignerPress: Award Winning Product & Industrial Design. Vol. 14-P, p. 67, COMO/ITALY, 2016 * DesignerPress: Award Winning Designs 2015-2016 A'Design Award YearBook. Digital Edition Book – PDF, COMO/ITALY, 2016 * The Jones Group: Rachel Roy. Custom Digital Runway Lookbook. NEW YORK CITY/USA, 2014 * Vendôme Luxury Collection. Exhibition Catalogue. Hôtel d'Évreux, 19 Place Vendôme, PARIS/FRANCE, 2010 * Studio XXb: BrickWorld. Exhibition Catalogue. Le Meurice, PARIS/FRANCE, 2010 * Judy Aldridge: Lurve Paris-Berlin; Hedonism. Bi-annual Collectible Edition Nr. 2, PARIS/FRANCE, 2009/2010 * Dacra, Design Miami/, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Design District, Exhibition Guide & Map, p. 4, Miami Beach, FLORIDA/USA, 2009/2010 * Hans Deumling: More Favourite Things. Eduard Meier GmbH, MUNICH/GERMANY, 2008 * Agostino von Hassell: Military High Life, Elegant Food Histories and Recipes, University Press of the South Inc., New Orleans, LOUISIANA/USA, 2006 * Cathy Newman: National Geographic fashion, p.106-108. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C./USA, 2001 * Richard Martin, Harold Koda: Swords into Ploughshares. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NEW YORK/USA, 1995 * Christopher Buckley: Dressed to Kill. An Extraordinary Collection of Military Regalia fills a Manhattan Town House. Photography: Billy Cunningham. Architectural Digest - Special New York Issue. Architectural Digest Publishing Corp., Los Angeles, California/USA, 11/1992 * Aardvark Publishing: The Great Bermuda Catalogue. HAMILTON/BERMUDA, 1987 * Audra D.S Burch: Limited Edition Experiences turns Design District into style mecca. In: The Miami Herald, FLORIDA/USA, 12/2009 * Kyra Brenzinger: Christopher Ross, Un Artiste à Votre Taille. In: Gemme Paris, PARIS/FRANCE, 6/2010 * Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture, Annual Exhibition, Christopher Ross Exhibition EDINBURGH/SCOTLAND

References

External links

*
Christopher Ross at De Gruyter Online

IDA Award Christopher Ross Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Christopher 20th-century American sculptors 1931 births 2023 deaths People from the Upper East Side 21st-century American sculptors American art collectors Businesspeople from New York City Collegiate School (New York) alumni Columbia University alumni Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus