Christopher Ross FRSA (May 9, 1931 – September 17, 2023) was an American artist, designer and collector of 19th century Imperial militaria. Ross has earned an international reputation for his 'animal' wearable fine art and portrait sculpture in the tradition of the French animalier. 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 Portugal for his contributions to European art and culture and his life-long commitment and pursuit of beauty, quality and excellence.
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 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 shown at Art Basel-Miami in 2009–2010.
Christopher Ross, the son of Captain Gustave Ross and grandson of New York Supreme Court Justice William P. Burr, was born and raised on the Upper East Side of New York. 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 with Edward Pulling as his mentor and then attended college (Collegiate School) in New York.
Ross studied history and philosophy at Columbia University in New York. From 1955 to 1976, Ross was a partner at Brooks Harvey, which was then acquired by Morgan Stanley. He entered a partnership with Harry Helmsley, 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 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 (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.
Ross’s 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, L'Officiel, Madame Figaro, Elle France, Harper’s Bazaar and magazine covers such as Marie Claire and Malaysia Tatler. His jewellery has been seen in fashion and art shows, most recently at Fendi’s Limited Edition Experiences, Art Basel 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.
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