Nationality American Religion Roman Catholic | Name Pierre Chaignon Education Harvard University | |
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Born April 23, 1871 ( 1871-04-23 ) New York City, New York Occupation Academic; heraldic designer and artist Died February 21, 1940, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | ||
Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (April 23, 1871 – February 21, 1940) was an American heraldist and heraldic artist.
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Biography
Pierre de Chaignon la Rose was born on April 23, 1871 in New York City, New York. His father was an A. F. de Chaignon la Rose, and his mother Katharine Kappus von Pichlstein. It was rumored by some at Harvard, however, that the French surname was merely a pretense, and that his name was originally Peter Ross.
La Rose studied at Exeter Academy and subsequently Harvard University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1895. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, supposedly "without ever taking a single lecture-note". He also served as editor of the Harvard Monthly, and was a member of Hasty Pudding and Signet. His roommate at Harvard was Daniel Gregory Mason, who described him in the following terms:
Of all my friends he had the surest nose for the best, whether in letters, music, the graphic arts, or the more general arts of life ... His style in college essays and stories was fairly Jamesian. He could draw exquisite book-plates. As for his piano-playing, I can see him yet at our upright, stocky but erect in shirt-sleeves and red hair ...
He taught at Harvard in the English department for seven years following his graduation, resigning his teaching post in 1902. By 1915, La Rose would describe his occupation as a "man of letters", busying himself with critical literary work and graphic design while making trips to Europe, Mexico, and Turkey.
A fervent Catholic, La Rose was an expert on ecclesiastical heraldry, and designed the coats of arms of many American Catholic prelates. He also designed arms for institutions both Catholic and secular, including Saint Anselm College and Rice University. For example, he designed the seals of all the graduate schools at Harvard University and served on its Committee on Arms, Seal, and Diplomas, while also designing armorial bearings for Princeton, Yale, and Radcliffe College.
He was a friend of historian George Santayana.
A 1941 recollection of him in the Harvard Crimson noted his dignified presence on campus in his later years, but also his isolation and loneliness; La Rose never married. He died on February 21, 1940 at Wyman Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Armorial bearings designed
La Rose designed the armorial bearings for the following persons and institutions: