Art theorist and collector. His writings advocating scientific principles as the basis for art interested many artists during the early twentieth century. Although Ross had no use for modern art, which he saw as idiosyncratic and irrational, he believed that identification of design universals would advance the progress of art by enabling artists to transcend the limits of traditional practice. Ross's interest in reconciling art and science was widespread at the time, and other popular theorists shared his goals. Ross's own thinking was influenced by the ideas of Hardesty Gillmore Maratta (1864–1924), who devised an influential color system, and Jay (born Edward John) Hambidge (1867–1924), who attracted a following for his method of mathematically based design known as “dynamic symmetry.” Born in Cincinnati, Denman Waldo Ross graduated from Harvard University in 1875 and five years later received a PhD in history. Attracted to Pre-Raphaelitism through Charles Eliot Norton's Harvard lectures, he studied privately in Italy with Henry Roderick Newman. In 1899 he returned to Harvard, where he remained on the faculty for the rest of life. In addition to European and Asian paintings and sculptures, his wide-ranging collection of some 16,000 objects included decorative arts from around the world. A Theory of Pure Design (1907) remains his most important book. Other significant publications include On Drawing and Painting (1912) and The Painter's Palette (1919). He died during a visit to London.