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 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 ...

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 in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

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 bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

. 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, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(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, books and 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 Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' (; stylised in all caps), full name ''L'Officiel de la couture et de la mode de Paris'' ("The Official ublicationof Paris Couture and Fashion"), is a French bimonthly fashion magazine. It has been published in Paris since 1921 a ...

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

Elle France ''Elle'' (stylized in all caps) is a worldwide magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, and society and lifestyle. The title ''Elle'' means ''She'' in French. ''Elle'' is considered "one of the world's largest ...

Harper’s Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'' and magazine covers such as ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'' and ''Malaysia

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

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

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

’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 (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, an ...

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, and holds the large ...

, 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, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

, New York; The

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; ) 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, and holds internationally important collect ...

, Edinburgh;

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University. Although it embraces all cultures and period ...

;

The Newark Museum of Art The Newark Museum of Art, formerly known as the Newark Museum, in Newark, New Jersey is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia (including a large collection of T ...

; 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, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

and German empires; Russia of the Czars and the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

including the Raj. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

—who took him to

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

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 an American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at '' Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the Costume ...

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 cura ...

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, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

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

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(1989-1990)'' and ''Swords into Ploughshares (1995)''. The Nassau County Museum of Art 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 53rd in line to the British throne as of 2025. The younger son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Gr ...

visited Ross' New York residence, to view his

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority and ...

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 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 () (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 world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

of the Royal

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

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 was organized April 28 ...

at 370 Park Avenue, New York; the Squadron A 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 and 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