Christian Schussele (born Guebwiller, Alsace, 16 April 1824; died Merchantville, New Jersey, 20 August 1879) was an artist. He studied under Adolphe Yvon and Paul Delaroche 1842-1848 and then came to the United States. Here, for some time, he worked at chromolithography which he had also pursued in France. Later he devoted himself almost entirely to painting. His best known works are “Clear the Track” (1851); “Franklin before the Lords in Council” (1856); “Men of Progress” (1857), in Cooper Union, New York City; “Zeisberger preaching to the Indians” (1859); “The Iron-Worker and King Solomon” (1860); “Washington at Valley Forge” (1862); and “Home on Furlough” and “McClellan at Antietam” (1863). About 1863, he was attacked by palsy in the right hand. In 1865, he went abroad and underwent severe treatment with no apparent benefit. On his return, in 1868, he was elected to fill the chair, then founded, of drawing and painting in the Pennsylvania Academy, which he held until his death. During this period he produced “Queen Esther denouncing Haman,” owned by the Academy (1869), and “The Alsatian Fair” (1870). Most of the paintings that have been named became widely known through large prints by John Sartain and other engravers.

References

 "Schussele, Christian". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.