Bio

Rosalie Jane Mislove was born the 7th daughter of the 7th son on August 6, 1923, in Racine, Wisconsin. After her father died when she was nine years old, her family moved to Milwaukee. Her mother, Anna, kept the family together, raising ten children on her own during the depression.

Rosalie is 2nd from left

At age 14, Rosalie attended the Layton School of Art College under special arrangements. At age 16, Rosalie and four older women formed a company, bought a car, and toured traveling circuses and county fairs to sketch "Profile Portraits." Rosalie was very fast in sketching and said she came home with "more money than my family had ever seen."

She graduated from Riverside High School and took classes at Layton School of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee State Teachers College, University of Wisconsin Extension, Milwaukee Art Institute, and the Chicago Art Institute. She exhibited her sketches and paintings and won several awards. She also helped publish and write copy in a literary art, poetry, and music magazine. 

Rosalie met Erwin Ritz, a USN Chief Petty Officer, and Athletic Specialist, at the Milwaukee USO. They were married in Milwaukee on December 22, 1946, in a double wedding with her older sister, Cele, and her husband, Allen Tyson. Rosalie and Erwin moved to an apartment in Washington DC, where Erwin worked as a CPA and Rosalie pursued her career as an artist. 

They had four daughters: Barbara, Sandy, Terry, and Janet, who enjoyed watching their mother paint and draw. Rosalie would occasionally place her easel, and her oil paints inside the playpen so she could paint safely while the girls watched between the bars from outside the playpen.   

Rosalie always provided creative opportunities for her children. She made their Halloween costumes and sewed all their clothes. On cold winter days, she would roll out rows of butcher paper on the basement floor, put on music, and they would all paint and sing together. 

One day, one of the girls splashed paint onto the basement wall. Rosalie stared at the paint splatters, turned to the girls, and said, "don't you see the circus?" And then, Rosalie and her girls painted murals on all the basement walls, a full 3-ring circus with animals, clowns, the big top, and lots of smiling people. Never a dull moment and always an adventure.

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All Rosalie Ritz images and artwork are copyrighted by the Ritz family and may not be used without permission. Contact the Ritz family for one-time copyright use or for further information.