Meadowlark Gallery: The Artist Biographies


Leonard Percival Rosseau (1859-1937)
Rosseau was born in 1859 near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During the early years of his life, he was a cowboy, cattle driver, and commodities broker. He would paint periodically, he received his first formal training at the Academic Julien in Paris, where he studied for six years under Jules Lefebvre, Tony Robert Fleury, and Herman Leon. Like many academy trained artists, he initially painted nudes. His first critical award in 1900 was from one of his nude paintings. In 1904, he painted "Diana Hunting" in which he put animals on the canvas for the first time. Rosseau submitted two paintings of bird dogs for the next Paris Salon opening. The two works sold right away. From 1910 to 1914, he spent his winters in the United States. He was widely exhibited and worked largely on commissions for thoroughbred dog breeders. In 1915, he returned permanently to the United States. The knowledge by the artist of sporting dogs allowed him to easily maintain a career. Rosseau died in 1937 at his North Carolina summer home.

View high resolution images of works by Leonard Percival Rousseau when available.