Alex Ross (1909-1990) was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, but he and his family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1911. He attended Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh. After he graduated he moved to New York City to join the Charles E. Cooper Studio.

Ross illustrated for magazines such as Collier’s, The Saturday Evening Post, and Ladies’ Home Journal. His first major sale was a cover for Good Housekeeping. He also created interior illustrations for these magazines and for Cosmopolitan, McCall’s, Woman’s Home Companion, and Reader’s Digest. Ross created book art for books as well, including This Is the Rosary, The Father Gilbert Prayer Book, and The Foundling.

In 1953 he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts from Boston College despite being mostly self-taught. Ross eventually tuned from magazine art to fine art, especially water color.

Ross created six covers for The Saturday Evening Post.