S. John Ross (artist)
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Sebastian John Ross (April 24, 1919 – August 24, 2008) was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
-born Australian caricature artist and showman, famous for his miniature
silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
portraits cut in black card and mounted on a white background. He made numerous media appearances and became a well-known identity at annual shows such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show and the Brisbane Ekka, where he worked each year for about 60 years. He was regarded within his lifetime as "a legend".Peter Dun
The Silhouette Man
accessed Nov 1 2008
He first visited Australia in 1942 as a U.S. Serviceman, and in 1945 married an Australian
WAAF WAAF may refer to: * w3af, (short for web application attack and audit framework), an open-source web application security scanner * Women's Auxiliary Air Force, a British military service in World War II ** Waaf, a member of the service * WAAF (AM ...
, Phyllis Counsell. After returning to America in the late 1940s, in 1950 he moved permanently to Australia and lived in NSW at Springwood. In 1950 with some assistance from
Jimmy Sharman James Sharman (20 June 1887 – 18 November 1965) was an Australian boxing troupe and entertainment impresario. His son also worked with him and took over for his father in 1955 after playing as a professional rugby league footballer. Bio ...
Snr. He was introduced to the life of the Australian Outdoor Showmen and worked the shows up until 2008. In that time he worked capital shows in Sydney, Melbourne Adelaide and Brisbane. John also toured regional Queensland & NSW shows. John Ross worked at
Luna Park Sydney Luna Park Sydney is a heritage-listed amusement park located at 1 Olympic Drive in the harbourside suburb of Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour. The amusement park is owned by the Luna Park ...
from 1950 until 1979. From then until his death in 2008 aged 89, when not on tour, he worked at the observation deck at Sydney's Centrepoint Tower. During this time he created thousands of portraits, including that of many celebrities. He appeared on television and radio on many occasions and hundreds of articles were written about him in newspapers and magazines. John was held in high regard by all in the Australian Show Society, being given many Show legend awards. When receiving one of these awards John always said jokingly that he would "rather be a live legend than a dead one". He also claimed that only the
Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuatio ...
knew what the "S" in his name stood for.Sydney Morning Herald
The Silhouette Man of Luna Park
accessed Nov 1 2008
He was sometimes referred to as Scissors John. Ross Eastgate, a military historian and journalist, said of Ross that "He was not tall in stature, but he was giant in Australian entertainment."
accessed Nov 1 2008


Life


Early life

S. John Ross was born Sebastian John Ross, in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, USA, April 24, 1919. Inspired by an artist that he saw at
Michigan State Fair The Michigan State Fair is an annual event originally held from 1849 to 2009 in Detroit, the state's largest city. In 2009 the governor declined to fund it because of other priorities. Because agriculture still has a major place in the Michigan ec ...
, he trained with the
silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
artist Budd-Jack, travelling around to different fairs for three years. He later worked in Hollywood.Silas Clifford-Smith
''S. John Ross''
Dictionary of Australian Artists Online. accessed Nov 1 2008
During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he served in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, before a period in Australia where he served at Base Section 7 in Sydney, and as Staff Sergeant managed the US driving pool, driving entertainment celebrities such as
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
and
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
. In his search for good drivers, he employed a number of Australian women in the WAAAF, thus meeting Florence Phyllis Counsell (known as Phyllis). They married in February 1945. After the war, Ross returned to the United States with his wife, decided to settle permanently in Australia. They returned on the SS ''Lurline'' on 18 March 1946. They lived at Falcon Avenue, Hazelbrook, in the Blue Mountains,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. Ross and Phyllis had two sons, John Leyton Ross and Philip Ross.


Australia: Luna Park, Easter Show and Ekka

In 1948, Ross began to tour the circuit of agricultural shows as a silhouette artist, encouraged by the travelling showman and boxing entrepreneur
Jimmy Sharman James Sharman (20 June 1887 – 18 November 1965) was an Australian boxing troupe and entertainment impresario. His son also worked with him and took over for his father in 1955 after playing as a professional rugby league footballer. Bio ...
. He continued working at shows for the next 60 years, travelling as far as the Proserpine show in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
. From the 1950s until its closure in 1979, Ross worked at Luna Park, Sydney, unless he was touring shows; later he worked at Centrepoint Tower. He established his name on the show circuit, with generations of families taking their children to have their portraits cut out by him. In 2006 he was named an "Ekka Legend" by the Brisbane Exhibition and in 2007 was named a "Show Legend" at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
Show Legends
accessed November 1, 2008
He was often heard to say that he would "rather be a living legend than a dead one". In 2004 he was commemorated at the reopened Luna Park with a mural painted by Ashley Taylor, an artist in residence.


Death

In August 2008, S. John Ross did not attend the Brisbane Ekka as usual John had previously taken ill at Cairns During his annual northern Queensland show tour and returned to Sydney where he was rushed to Westmead Hospital. Sadly after some four weeks in Hospital S John Ross passed away on Sunday August 24, 2008 with his wife Phyllis (1918-2011) and younger son Philip present. John was aged 89.


Work setting

Ross generally worked at shows in a little open booth, surrounded by a display of portraits that he had created of famous people. According to Ross, the art of making silhouettes was very important before the era of
photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...
, and went back to
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...
. He worked quickly with a pair of small scissors, cutting portraits from thin matt black card. He usually concentrated on the profile, but would also enhance the portrait by snipping out a few details. Each portrait was mounted on white card. The likenesses were remarkable, so that it was easy to recognise the famous faces that were on display. He claimed that not everyone's face was suitable for profile portraits and that he was selective as to whom he would portray.


Famous portraits

Among the celebrities whose portraits he made were Queen Elizabeth II,
Sir Robert Menzies ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
, Vivien Leigh and
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...
. In the United States, he had made portraits of
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, Stan Laurel,
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
,
Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
and Mickey Rooney,
Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...
,
Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...
and
John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, S. John 1919 births 2008 deaths Australian caricaturists American emigrants to Australia Silhouettists Artists from Detroit