Abraham Archibald Anderson, was a personal friend of Thomas Edison. He was born in New Jersey circa 1846 but spent much of his life in New York and Paris, France. Initially, he was a businessman but a career change launched a successful career as an artist. Primarily a portrait painter, Anderson painted portraits of such famous men as John Wanamaker, General O.O. Howard, Elihu Root, and Bishop A. Cleveland Coxe. Anderson painted a portrait of Edison working on a tinfoil phonograph which is now owned and exhibited by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Titled, "Thomas A. Edison listening to his first perfected phonograph", the work was donated to the Smithsonian by Anderson's daughter, Dr. Eleanor A. Campbell. The portrait was painted during the Paris Exposition of 1889. Edison developed one of the most popular exhibits at the Exposition, spending over $100,000 financing the memorable exhibition in the section of the exposition that displayed inventions.

Anderson's work, "The Morning after the Ball", is prominently featured in Edison's estate, Glenmont. As visitors ascend the main staircase, their eyes are drawn to the oversized painting on the landing, which features a young woman in bed reading a newspaper. In the scene she is scanning the society pages for mention of her successful debut at the ball. Her ball gown is tossed in the right hand corner of the painting. Recent research has brought to light information relating to the identity of the woman in the painting. Sources indicate that she was a ballet dancer at the "Grand Opera" ballet in France. According to the artist, the focal point of the painting was not the young woman but the small spray of violets that appear on the night table next to the Louis the XVI bed. In his biography the artist also claimed that in 1890 a copy of the painting was made for the Czarina's boudoir in the Royal Palace at St. Petersburg as seen in an illustration printed in the London Illustrated News in 1890.

The painting received a gold medal at the Paris Salon and was consequently exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1889 where the world was first introduced to the Eiffel Tower. Edison purchased the painting at the Paris Exposition of 1889 and had it shipped to his New Jersey estate. A newspaper article recounts, "Mr. Edison saw it, and at once became the lucky proprietor." In a letter to Anderson in November of 1890, Edison's secretary remarked that the painting, "now occupies a prominent place in Mr. Edison's residence, where it is much admired by everyone who sees it."

During the Paris Exposition of 1889, Anderson acted as Edison's interpreter, accompanying him to luncheons and galas. Edison did not speak French and typically was not fond of large social gatherings. Edison told Anderson during the Exposition, "I am never so happy as when I sit down to a ten course dinner between two French men who cannot speak a word of English". During the Exposition the French government bestowed upon Edison the honor of the degree of Commander of the Legion of Honor. Anderson was present at the ceremony and when the official handed Edison the diamond studded emblem, Edison said, "Anderson, they have raised my ante!".

Anderson led a fascinating life not only as an artist but as a sportsman and a philanthropist. After World War II Anderson furthered his interest in aviation by becoming certified as a pilot. Anderson was also once the Superintendent of Yellowstone Forest Reserve (appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt) and owner of a Wyoming ranch known as "Palette Ranch". Anderson studied under Cabanel, Bonnat, Cormon, Godin, and Collin. He founded the American Art Association at Paris which assisted American art students in their pursuit of training in Paris. He founded the organization because of his own recollections of struggling as an art student in Paris with limited financial means.