Ross Rossin

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has four portraits done by Rossin.

-America’s greatest poet of the 20th century, Maya Angelou, sat for her portrait shortly after her 86th birthday in 2013. The portrait was acquired and unveiled in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in April, 2014.

On March 29, 2017, Rossin’s nine foot bronze statue of Hank Aaron was unveiled at the newly opened Suntrust Park Stadium in Atlanta, GA.

In April 2017, Rossin had a solo exhibition in the Russian Parliament, Duma, presenting ten large-scale portraits of legendary Russian historical and cultural figures. His portrait of Leo Tolstoy was accepted and is part of the permanent collection of the Leo Tolstoy State Museum in Moscow, Russia.

Since the fall of 2016, Rossin is sitting on the advisory board at the Center for Ethics at Emory University.

On April 7, 2015, the US Postal Service unveiled the national forever stamp dedicated to the late Maya Angelou using Rossin’s portrait in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

In October–November, 2016, Rossin had a solo exhibition in the Palace of Nations, U.N Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. He presented a collection of large-scale portraits of ordinary people he met in his travels around the world, mostly in India, as well as extraordinary individuals he met like Desmond Tutu in South Africa, President Jimmy Carter, CNN founder Ted Turner and others. The exhibition was opened by the director-general of the United Nations and it was called “Ultimately Human”.

-World famous movie star, Morgan Freeman sat for Rossin in 2012. The portrait was acquired by the Smithsonian in the following year.

-Legendary Civil Rights leader, close associate to Dr. Martin Luther King, Congressman, and two time Mayor of Atlanta, Ambassador Andrew Young. It was acquired by the Smithsonian in 2010.

-Rossin did the portrait of the baseball legend, Hank Aaron in 2010 and the portrait was acquired by the Smithsonian in 2010.

In 1999, Rossin began exhibiting his work in the United States. Spring of 2001, Rossin began working with his current business partner, Karen Hudson, and the two developed Portrait Partners Inc. Rossin, his wife Ava, and their newborn son Michael moved to Atlanta, GA on a permanent basis that fall. In 2010, Rossin became a United States citizen.

Rossin was introduced to Rotary International during the nineties in Japan. He joined the Sofia Rotary Club in 1998. After moving to the US in 2001, he joined the Rotary Club of Buckhead, Atlanta. In 2008, Rossin became a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, where he later served as a vice-president of international affairs. Since 2016, Rossin is sitting on the board of directors of the Atlanta Rotary. In 2010 Rossin painted a large scale portrait of Rotary’s founder Paul Harris. The portrait was auctioned off and collected $170,500 for the Rotary Foundation’s Polio Plus Campaign. Today, this portrait hangs in Rotary International Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois. Rossin has been named a Polio Free World Hero.

1991 through 1996, Rossin for five months each year visited and worked in Japan. During this time he completed over one-hundred and fifty portraits and traveled throughout Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Marioka, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Chiba, Hakodate and Himeji. He was commissioned for portraits for both business leaders and political figures. He later moved back to the European market, painting both commissions and hosting personal exhibitions in France, England, Germany, and Belgium. During this period, his most noted works include the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, and the Lebanese Patriarch (which now hangs in the Vatican).

In 1983, Rossin was a senior at the National School of Fine Arts “Ilia Petrov” in Sofia, when he met his future wife, Ava. Seven years later the two would marry on December 15, 1990. Ava has traveled extensively with Rossin for exhibit tours and portrait commissions worldwide. The two welcomed their first child, Michael in 1999, and their daughter, Savannah, in 2005. They reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

At twelve years old, Rossin was introduced to oil-painting techniques in local master’s studios. In 1978, Rossin was accepted in the prestigious National High School of Fine Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, where for five years he was instructed in classical drawing, painting, sculpting, art history, anatomy, and aesthetics. 1985 through 1991, Rossin studied painting in the National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria where he graduated cum laude with a Masters of Art degree.

Ross R Rossin (born Rossen Raytchev Raykov) is a Bulgarian-American artist known for his large-scale, realist portraits of modern and historical figures. Born on March 23, 1964 in Russe, Bulgaria, located near the Danube River. Russe’s beautiful Baroque architecture, strong influence from Vienna, and traditional appreciation of culture strongly influenced his appreciation of beauty and style.