Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter Family Papers, 1840-1961, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.rossthom
Creators:
Rossiter, Thomas Prichard, 1818-1871
Dates:
1840-1961
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear feet
Repository:
The Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter Family papers measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1840 to 1961. Included are letters to painter Thomas Prichard Rossiter and letters to his son, architect Ehrick Kensett Rossiter, documenting their friendships with many artists and Thomas Prichard Rossiter's sketchbook and loose sketches. Edith Rossiter Bevan's papers include her writings on her grandfather, Thomas Prichard Rossiter; a scrapbook; photographs of the Rossiter family; notes by Bevan; news clippings; and other printed material. Also found is Bevan's collection of artists' letters.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter Family papers measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1840 to 1961. Included are letters to painter Thomas Prichard Rossiter and letters to his son, architect Ehrick Kensett Rossiter, documenting their friendships with many artists. Notable letters are from James Fenimore Cooper, William Morris Hunt, John Jay, J. F. Kensett, William H. Morris, Samuel F. B. Morse, George Peabody, Cecelia Beaux, William A. Coffin, Daniel Chester French, Will H. Low, Gari Melchers, William Sartain, Augustus Vincent Tack, Dwight Tryon, and many others.
The collection contains Thomas Prichard Rossiter's sketchbook drawn while living in Italy in 1943, and three other sketches including a portrait of his family.
Also found are letters to Edith Rossiter Bevan and her writings on her grandfather, Thomas Prichard Rossiter, including a biography and checklist of his paintings. Bevan also compiled a scrapbook on his career and family history which includes drawings by Rossiter, photographs of the Rossiter family and his artwork, notes by Bevan, news clippings, and other printed material.
A collection of Edith Rossiter Bevan's artists' letters is found within the papers. Letters are from Alexander Archipenko, J. Carroll Beckwith, Reginald Birch, Emma M. Cadwalader-Guild, Andre Castaigne, Fanny Cory, Kenyon Cox, Frank Craig, Charles Dana Gibson, Jay Hambridge, Henry Hutt, A. J. Keller, Rockwell Kent, Fiske Kimball, David Scott Moncrieff, H. Siddons Mowbray, Peter Newell, Rhoda Holmes Nicholls, Ralph M. Pearson, Frederic Remington, Otto Soglow, and Elizabeth Whitmore.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into 2 series:
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter Family Papers, 1840-1961 (Box 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Edith Rossiter Bevan Collection of Artists' Letters, circa 1891-1939, 1951 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Thomas Prichard Rossiter (1818-1871) was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He first learned painting as an apprentice for a Mr. John Boyd, and also studied with Nathaniel Jocelyn. In 1838 he exhibited two paintings at the National Academy of Design, and in 1939 moved to New York City and opened a studio.
In 1840, Rossiter traveled to Europe with Asher B. Durand, John Kensett, and John Casilaer, and while there visited Rome with Thomas Cole. He decided to stay in Italy until 1846 when he moved to New York City and shared a studio with Kensett and Louis Lang. During this period he relied on portrait painting for his income, but also painted historical and religious paintings.
In 1851 Rossiter married Anna Ehrick Parmly and they toured Europe in 1853. They settled in Paris where Anna gave birth to twins Ehrick Kensett and Charlotte. Rossiter exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855. Anna died shortly after the birth of their daughter Anna, and the family moved back to New York.
For a brief period of time Rossiter had an art gallery, exhibiting his work and the work of his friends. In 1860 he married Mary (Mollie) Sterling and moved his family to Cold Spring, New York on the Hudson River. He continued to paint portraits, historical, and religious paintings, and exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, until his death in 1871.
Ehrick Kensett Rossiter (1854-1941), named after his father's friend John Frederick Kensett, attended Cornell University and became an architect in New York as part of the firm Rossiter & Muller. He was a member of the Architectural League, United States Public Architects' League, and trustee of the American Fine Arts Society. In 1877 he married Mary Heath and they had three sons and a daughter. Their daughter Edith Rossiter Bevan was a historian and avid collector of historical autographs.

Administration

Author
Erin Corley
Sponsor
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Provenance
A portion of the collection was donated in 1957 by Edith Rossiter Bevan, daughter of Ehrick Kensett Rossiter, and granddaughter of Thomas Prichard Rossiter. Additional material was donated in 2007 by Patti Rossiter Ravenscroft, Rossiter's Great Great Granddaughter.
Alternative Forms Available
The papers of Thomas Prichard Rossiter and the Rossiter family in the Archives of American Art were digitized in
2009
, and total
467
images.
Processing Information
Portions of the collection received a preliminary level of processing at some point after donation and were microfilmed on reel D33. The entire collection was fully processed, arranged, and described by Erin Corley in 2008 and digitized in 2009 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter Family papers, 1840-1957. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions on Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Related Material
Also found in the Archives of American Art is a Thomas Prichard Rossiter letter to Elias Beirs dated January 12, 1840.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- New York (State) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Architects -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rossiter, Ehrick Kensett, 1854-1941 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rossiter, Thomas Prichard, 1818-1871 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Soglow, Otto, 1900-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tack, Augustus Vincent, 1870-1949 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sartain, William, 1843-1924 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scott-Moncrieff, David Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whitmore, Elizabeth Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Keller, A. J. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jay, John, 1817-1894 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hutt, Henry, b. 1875 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hunt, William Morris, 1824-1879 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Low, Will Hicok, 1853-1932 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kimball, Fiske, 1888-1955 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kensett, John Frederick, 1816-1872 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mowbray, H. Siddons (Harry Siddons), 1858-1928 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Morris, William, 1834-1896 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Melchers, Gari, 1860-1932 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pearson, Ralph M., 1883-1958 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peabody, George, 1795-1869 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nicholls, Rhoda Holmes Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newell, Peter, 1862-1924 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Craig, Frank, 1874-1918 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hambidge, Jay, 1867-1924 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coffin, William A. (William Anderson), 1855-1925 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cory, Fanny Y. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Birch, Reginald Bathurst, 1856-1943 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bevan, Edith Rossiter Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Castaigne, Andre Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cadwalader-Guild, Emma Marie, 1843-1911? Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beckwith, J. Carroll (James Carroll), 1852-1917 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beaux, Cecilia, 1855-1942 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tryon, Dwight William, 1849-1925 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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