Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Russell Patterson settled in New York City, where he had a career as an illustrator, landscape painter, and designer. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago and also claimed to have been a student in France of, the father of Impressionism, Claude Monet. Patterson was a member of the Society of Illustrators and the American Institute of Designers. He was a costume and set designer of the 1922 Ziegfield Follies as well as other Broadway shows and movies in Hollywood. He also did designs for hotel lobbies, department stores, and restaurant interiors.