Sidney D. Rosoff

Born 1924 in New York, New York, Sidney Rosoff is an attorney and partner at the law firm McLaughlin & Stern in New York City. Rosoff has been representing the American Craft Council since the early days of its founding by Aileen Osborn Webb. He received a degree in banking and finance from New York University in 1949, a JD from Harvard Law School in 1952 and earned a Master of Laws in taxation from New York University in 1959. One of Rosoff’s first assignments as a lawyer was to work on the amendment of the Council’s Charter to permit it to operate a museum (the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, now the Museum of Art and Design) and an application reaffirmation of the Council’s tax exempt status. During the first ACC craft shows in Rhinebeck, New York, Rosoff held regular meetings to advise exhibiting artists on the business side of selling their craft. The meetings were held on Sunday mornings under a tent where he gave artists instruction in billing, taking orders, and collecting sales tax – in short, ways to protect themselves, their businesses, and their livelihood. For many in attendance at those meetings, these essential business practices were virtually unknown. Last fall the ACC Board of Trustees voted to recognize Sidney’s unyielding support of the Council with the Award of Distinction.

Read more about Sidney in American Craft.