 Louis Choris was born in Yekaterinoslav, Russian Empire, now Dnipro, Ukraine of German-Russian parents on March 22, 1795.He visited the Pacific and the west coast of North America in 1816 on board the Russian expeditionary ship Ruric, being attached in the capacity of artist to the Romanzoff expedition under the command of Lieutenant Otto von Kotzebue, sent out for the purpose of exploring a northwest passage.Choris is said to have "painted nature as he found it.