Noted Buckhead Artist Opens Home

In Buckhead artist Ross R. Rossin's portraits, American Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington appear vivid and alive —ready to speak.

Rossin, who goes by that single name, captures historic figures in stunning, contemporary realism. Emerging from a white background , the faces appear captured by an intensely revealing camera, as if today's most compelling photographic technology had been taken back into time. The details of hair, skin and features are striking. It's not photography, though — Rossin reveals the inner presence of historical figures with oil on canvas.

"This is very, very personal work, not commissioned work," Rossin last weekend told members of the High Museum's Art Partners, who came to the artist's Buckhead home for a personal tour of his studio. He explained how he achieves a personal communion with the historic figures he paints.

A native of Bulgaria who came to Atlanta in the spring of 2001, Rossin told the Arts Partners that one of his most prized possessions is the U.S. document approving his request to work in the United States, dated Sept. 12, 2001. After the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, he feared that his request would be rejected.

"That's when I first learned about the greatness of this country, that you would embrace those of us who try to come here and contribute," he said. In his portraits of great Americans, this immigrant to America, now a U.S. citizen, shows a special insight into the country's inner soul.

Discussing a print of his portrait of  Roosevelt, Rossin said he wanted "to bring him to the 21st century for us, portray him as lively as possible, as real as possible. It's all about experiencing the personality."

The same aesthetic intent applies to his other portraits. Lincoln and Washington look ready to give advice on today's events. Queen Nefertiti, while portrayed in the royal dress of ancient Egypt, could be a young woman strolling down Peachtree on a Buckhead night. Jackie Kennedy glows with all of the excitement of Camelot.

His Roosevelt portrait, actually done for the Theodore Roosevelt Association and now hanging at the Roosevelt home in Oyster Bay, N.Y., shows a young, pensive Teddy, just after he'd lost his wife and mother on the same day.

"You can read that sadness in his eyes," Rossin said.

The figure of Lincoln required a special engagement, he said. "Lincoln's complex character needed to be shown as never before. ...We are so familiar with that face, it's on the $5 dollar bill, it's everywhere."

Rossin reveals the careworn Union president as if he'd just received bad news from the Civil War. "You can see the melancholy and the depression, but also see the heroic aspect of him."

The artist calls Lincoln one of the greatest leaders of history. "He's like a spiritual mansion, a spiritual cathedral. You can get lost in his psyche. Imagine spending hours with this guy and getting lost in his eyes."

Rossin also does portraits of contemporary people using the same technique as with the Lincoln and Roosevelt paintings. Among these is an engaging portrait of Henry Aaron, the Atlanta Braves home run king. Rossin  has a print of the  portrait in his home, with the original hanging in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Rossin joked that as a native of Bulgaria, he had little recognition of Aaron's greatness as a baseball player.  "Who's Hank Aaron?" he asked when he heard he'd been chosen to paint Aaron's portrait. Aaron came to Rossin's home, and the artist was amused that others were incredulous that he had met baseball's all-time leading home run leader. Despite Rossin's lack of baseball knowledge, he shows the joyous spirit of the game in Aaron's warm smile and dancing eyes.

A portrait of former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young,  chosen for Smithsonian Insitutition's portrait gallery, is another work in which the picture seems to breathe. 

Rossin has also done portraits of both President Bushes, President Reagan, Nelson Mandela and other world leaders. He is also known for his portraits of business and political leaders in a more traditional style. For more on his work, see his website. 

An artist from childhood who graduated cum laude from the Sofia Fine Art Academy, Rossin at the start of his talk explained his artistic aim.

"The only thing I really care about, the only thing I am interested in, is human nature, what's our purpose in this world."