Born in Plattsburg, New York, Stephen James Ferris was a painter and etcher who studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy and in Paris under Jean Gerome. Highly regarded for his work on both sides of the Atlantic, he was awarded the Fortuny Prize in Rome in 1876 for the portrait that he entered in that year’s competition. Ferris also served for more than a quarter century as the Instructor of Art at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women.
With his brother-in-law Thomas Moran, Ferris first studied the process of etching in 1860 from the engraver and publisher, John Sartain; his first published etching was created in 1875. During the following years he created many fine portraits and figure studies in this medium. Many were homages to works by artists he admired. Along with Anna Lea Merritt and Stephen Schoff, Ferris is considered to be among the most talented American portrait etchers. He died at Philadelphia.