Denman Waldo Ross
Date of birth: 10 January 1853
Place of birth: Cincinnati
Date of death: 12 September 1935
Place of death: London, UK
Category: collector
Identity:
Denman Waldo Ross was the son of John Ludlow Ross and Frances Walker Waldo.
Life:
Dr Denman W. Ross was an artist, professor of art at Harvard University and a trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He was a collector, particularly of Oriental art.
He travelled to Europe several times: his passport applications include one dated 15 March 1886, stating that he was going abroad for up to two years, and another, 10 January 1895, when he planned to spend a year abroad. In July 1893 he and his mother were returning to the USA from Ireland; in 1896 he travelled alone on a ship returning from Genoa, Italy, and there are many further trips recorded.
He owned Whistler's Street in Old Chelsea y249. It is possible he bought it in London in the trip mentioned above, around 1886 or 1887, but it could have been on a later trip. He lent it to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1902 and 1907, and to the Boston Whistler Memorial show in 1904, gave it to the MFA on 26 August 1909, one of over 11,000 objects he donated to the Museum.
Bibliography:
Ross, Denman W., A Theory of Pure Design: Harmony, Balance, Rhythm, Houghton-Mifflin & co., 1907.
Hopkinson, Charles, 'Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935)', Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 71, No. 10 (March 1937), pp. 543-546, online at jstor.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, website. 'Denman Ross', Wikipedia.
Census and shipping records; Passport application, 1886, online; 10 January 1895, issued 19 July 1895, Ancestry.com
