Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter Family papers
name: label: Creator
content: Rossiter, Thomas Prichard, 1818-1871
label: Names
content: Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964
label: Names
content: Beaux, Cecilia, 1855-1942
label: Names
content: Beckwith, J. Carroll (James Carroll), 1852-1917
label: Names
content: Bevan, Edith Rossiter
label: Names
content: Birch, Reginald Bathurst, 1856-1943
label: Names
content: Cadwalader-Guild, Emma Marie, 1843-1911?
label: Names
content: Castaigne, Andre
label: Names
content: Coffin, William A. (William Anderson), 1855-1925
label: Names
content: Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851
label: Names
content: Cory, Fanny Y.
label: Names
content: Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919
label: Names
content: Craig, Frank, 1874-1918
label: Names
content: French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931
label: Names
content: Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944
label: Names
content: Hambidge, Jay, 1867-1924
label: Names
content: Hunt, William Morris, 1824-1879
label: Names
content: Hutt, Henry, b. 1875
label: Names
content: Jay, John, 1817-1894
label: Names
content: Keller, A. J.
label: Names
content: Kensett, John Frederick, 1816-1872
label: Names
content: Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971
label: Names
content: Kimball, Fiske, 1888-1955
label: Names
content: Low, Will Hicok, 1853-1932
label: Names
content: Melchers, Gari, 1860-1932
label: Names
content: Morris, William, 1834-1896
label: Names
content: Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872
label: Names
content: Mowbray, H. Siddons (Harry Siddons), 1858-1928
label: Names
content: Newell, Peter, 1862-1924
label: Names
content: Nicholls, Rhoda Holmes
label: Names
content: Peabody, George, 1795-1869
label: Names
content: Pearson, Ralph M., 1883-1958
label: Names
content: Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909
label: Names
content: Rossiter, Ehrick Kensett, 1854-1941
label: Names
content: Rossiter, Thomas Prichard, 1818-1871
label: Names
content: Sartain, William, 1843-1924
label: Names
content: Scott-Moncrieff, David
label: Names
content: Soglow, Otto, 1900-1975
label: Names
content: Tack, Augustus Vincent, 1870-1949
label: Names
content: Tryon, Dwight William, 1849-1925
label: Names
content: Whitmore, Elizabeth
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Architects -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: 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.
creator: label: Creator
content: Rossiter, Thomas Prichard, 1818-1871
setName: label: See more items in
content: Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter Family papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: 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.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: 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.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1840-1961
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.rossthom
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 2 series:

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)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: 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.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The papers of Thomas Prichard Rossiter and the Rossiter family in the Archives of American Art were digitized in 2009, and total 467 images.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: 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.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is a Thomas Prichard Rossiter letter to Elias Beirs dated January 12, 1840.