Thomas Prichard Rossiter

Thomas Prichard Rossiter (1818–1871) was an American artist born in New Haven, Connecticut. Known for his portraits and paintings of historical scenes, he later came to be associated with the Hudson River School of artists.

Life and career

Rossiter was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1818, where he later attended Hopkins School. He first studied painting with John Boyd, and later with Nathaniel Jocelyn.

In 1838, he exhibited two paintings at the National Academy of Design; the following year he moved to New York City and opened a studio. In 1840 he traveled in Europe with Asher B. Durand, John Kensett, and John William Casilear. While there, he visited Rome with Thomas Cole, and decided to stay in Italy. In 1846, he returned to New York City and shared a studio with Kensett and Louis Lang.

In 1860, Rossiter married Mary (Mollie) Sterling and moved his family to Cold Spring, New York on the Hudson River. He designed a house, Fair Lawn, overlooking the Hudson River. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 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.

Works Among his best-known paintings are:

Muses and Graces (1859), New Britain Museum of American Art Signing of the Constitution (ca 1860-1870), hosted at Independence National Historical Park Jews in Captivity The Wise and Foolish Virgins The Home of Washington (1858), painted together with Mignot. Washington's First Cabinet The Last Hours of Tasso Spilt Milk