John Constable (1776 - 1837)

Artist. Born at East Bergholt, Suffolk, the son of a prosperous merchant. After several years in the family business, he went to London in 1799 to study at the Royal Academy. In 1802 he exhibited at the Academy for the first time and he refused the position of drawing master at Great Marlow Military College. […]

Pietro Consagra (1920 - 2005)

Italian Abstract Sculptor. He was born in Mazara del Vallo (Sicily) and died in Milan. He is best known for his works in iron and bronze. He moved to Rome in the mid-1940s and co-founded a group named “Forma.” Consagra was also an essayist and art critic. He published “La Necessita della Scultura” and an […]

Paul Conrad (1924 - 2010)

Political Cartoonist. A controversial legend in his field, he saw himself as a defender of the common man and savagely skewered those in power for nearly 60 years, to the delight or outrage of his readers. He is probably best remembered for his takes on the Vietnam War,  the Watergate scandal,  and the Reagan era. […]

Bruce Conner (1933 - 2008)

Artist and filmmaker. Born in in McPherson, Kansas, he was world renowned as a pioneering collage filmmaker and Beat-era assemblage artist,  recognized for his work in many creative disciplines. His gauzy assemblages of scraps salvaged from abandoned buildings, nylon stockings, doll parts, and other found materials initially gained him art-world attention. Best remembered for his […]

Maidie Norman (1912 - 1998)

African American Actress who is best remembered for her role as the determined housekeeper in “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,” the Joan Crawford/Bette Davis thriller. (bio by: Pecan Pie)

Clyde Dixon Connell (1901 - 1998)

Sculptress, primitive artist and civil rights advocate. Featured in People magazine and on PBS and was the subject of at least two books. Her works were featured in the show “Different Drummers” at the Hirschhorn Museum of Art at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and in the “The Dream of Egypt” at the Centro […]

Josiah Conder (1852 - 1920)

Architect. Originally from England, Conder was invited to Japan in 1977 to teach architecture. He trained most of the major Japanese architects of the Meiji era and designed buildings that included the Tokyo Imperial Museum, the Rokumeikan and the St. Nikolai Cathedral. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)

Alban Jasper Conant (1821 - 1915)

Portrait painter, author, preacher and teacher. Conant is best known for his famous “Smiling Lincoln” portraits. Upon seeing his first painting, Mary Todd Lincoln was quoted as saying “That is excellent. That is the way he looks when he has his friends about him!” That portrait now hangs in Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University. […]

Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter (1869 - 1958)

Architect,  Interior Designer. She has been called “the architect of the Southwest” for her rough-hewn designs,  which combined Spanish and Native American influences with a contemporary spirit.  She was educated at the California School of Design in San Francisco. In 1901 the Fred Harvey Company offered her a job decorating its landmark Alvarado Hotel in […]

Charles Allston Collins (1828 - 1873)

Arist, Author. Born in Hampstead, North London, he was the second son of William Collins, R.A., who is buried in St, Mary’s Church in Paddington Green. Like his elder brother, the author William Wilkie Collins, Charles was named after a painter, Washington Allston of Massachussetts. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools and, in 1847, […]

John Maier Collier (1850 - 1934)

Artist. English painter and writer. The younger son of Sir Robert Perret Collier (later Lord Monkswell), Collier and was educated at Eton College. After being introduced to the artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, he studied at the Slade School of Art in London, under Edward Poynter, before moving to Paris where he studied under Jean-Paul Laurens […]

Anne Ward Murphy (1970 - 2003)

Actress. Born in Long Island, New York, she received a master’s degree in speech and education from Adelphi University, and later became a professor at Suffolk Community College, all while acting at the same time. She appeared in several stage plays including, “Snow White” “A Funny Thing Happened” “Can’t Take It With You” “A Chorus […]

Matilde Muñoz Sampedro (1899 - 1969)

Actress. Member of a long family of stage and screen actors. She was born and died in Madrid (Spain). She developed her career on Stage and Screen. On stage, she appeared in “La Novia de Reverte (1933), “Casi un Cuento de Hadas” (1953) or “El Patio” (1953). In 1918, she married to actor Rafael Bardem […]

Frederic Edwin Church (1826 - 1900)

Artist. Specialized in, and is most famous for, painting realistic tropical landscapes. Some of his works are “Cotopaxi” (1854), “The Heart of the Andes” (1859), “Aurora Borealis” (1865) and “Aegean Sea” (1871). “Cotopaxi” presently hangs in the New York City Public Libraries Gallery, and “Aegean Sea” is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (bio by: […]

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki (1726 - 1801)

Painter. Largely self-taught, Daniel achieved his first popular success with the sentimental painting The Parting of Jean Calas from His Family (1767), which shows the influence of Greuze. He began engraving in 1758. The bulk of his work was in illustrating scientific books by Basedow, Buffon, Lavater, Pestalozzi and others. He also painted many portraits […]

Nonna Viktorovna Mordyukova (1925 - 2008)

Actress. She was considered one of Russia’s top cinema stars, appearing in over 60 films spanning a 50 year screen career. She made her screen debut at age 23 in the 1948 motion picture “The Young Guard.” She was the recipient of several Soviet state awards, and was named as the people’s actress in 1974. […]

Frank Swift Chase (1886 - 1958)

Artist.  He is remembered as a Post-Impressionist landscape painter and a founder of the Woodstock Artists Association in Woodstock, New York, and the Sarasota School of Art.  He grew up in modest comfort in Bauxite, Arkansas, where he attended public schools and while possessing mathematical skills, he did not attend college but worked as an […]

Lynn Russell Chadwick (1914 - 2004)

Artist. He was awarded the C.B.E.(Commander of the British Empire) in 1964 for his services to the arts. He was a British sculptor whose expressionistic, figurative works in welded iron and bronze. He died at home in Lypiatt Park in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England at 88 years old. He studied at Merchant Taylors’ School. He worked […]

Leora Middleton (1888 - 1945)

Actress. Born Leora Spellmeyer in Bonne Terre, Missouri, she began her career in vaudeville where she met and married actor Charles Middleton. Using the stage name Laura Spellman, she performed in live theatre with her husband and they made their debut together in the silent film, “Wits vs. Wits” (1920). She continued working primarily on […]

Rose Michtom (1897 - 1986)

American Actress.  Michtom began her career as an actress late in life. Leonard B. Stern, the producer of ‘Get Smart’, was her nephew, and her first acting roles were as an extra in that series from 1965 through 1970. She specialized in the role of the ‘little old lady’ and appeared on television in such […]

Inge Meysel (1910 - 2004)

German Television and Screen Actress. She was one of the  most beloved television actresses in Germany. She was nicknamed “the mother of the nation”. She leaved Germany during Hitler’s rise to power, because his father was jewish. Among others, she appeared in TV series such as “Die Zeit und die Conways,” “Engel Schau Heinwärts,” “Gertrud […]

Eve Turner “Eve” Meyer (1928 - 1977)

Actress, Producer, Model. Wife of   Russ Meyer. She was Playboy Playmate of the Month for June 1955. She produced the films, “Blacksnake!” (1973), “The Seven Minutes” (1971), “Cherry, Harry & Raquel!” (1970), “Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls” (1970), “Vixen!” (1968), “Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers” (1968), “Good Morning…And Goodbye!” (1967), “Common Law Cabin” (1967), […]

Dorothy Meyer (1924 - 1987)

Actress, Model and an African American Rights Activist. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to a Presbyterian minister. Her stage began at a young age, preforming on the Bible Belt where she appeared singing and acting in several religious themed productions. While World War II was going on, she worked as a typist and secretary in a […]

Gertrude Messinger (1911 - 1995)

American Actress. Born in Spokane, Washington, Gertie began acting as a child, following cousin, actress Mary Kornman, playing roles in silent films. As an adult, she became a prolific actress in many B movies. Between 1934 and 1935, she starred in arguably her biggest movies, with parts in the film Anne of Green Gables with […]

Theresa Merritt (1922 - 1998)

Lynn Merrick (1919 - 2007)

Actress. A sultry blonde, blue-eyed glamour girl of the 1940s, she appeared in over 40 films during that era. Born Marilyn Llewelling, she was one of 13 women selected in 1940 by the Motion Picture Publicists Association as a “Baby Star”, a selection process which was meant to highlight the most promising new film stars. […]

Nina Mae McKinney (1912 - 1967)

Actress. Born Nannie Mayme McKinney to Hal and Georgia McKinney in Lancaster, South Carolina; her parents moved to New York in search of better opportunities leaving her to be raised by a great aunt, Carrie Sanders. As a child she appeared in plays at the Lancaster Industrial School. At twelve, her parents sent for her […]

Carole Lombard (1908 - 1942)

Actress.  Born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, one of three children, her parents separated and with her mother she moved to California.  Her career spanned from the silent era to “talkies.”  An auto accident almost ended her life as well as acting by inflicting serious scars on her face.  Undaunted, she was able […]

Viveca Lindfors (1920 - 1995)

Actress. Known for roles in “Backstreet Justice,” “Adventures of Don Juan,” “Stargate,” “A Question of Guilt,” and “Natural Enemies.” (bio by: Ron Moody)  Family links:  Spouse:  George Tabori (1914 – 2007)Cause of death: Complications of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Carrie Hamilton (1963 - 2002)

Actress. The daughter of celebrated comedienne, Carol Burnett and of producer Joe Hamilton, she studied music and acting at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and became an actress in 1985, with her role of ‘Kathy’ in the television movie “Love Lives On” (1985).  She would show up in such roles as ‘Reggie Higgins’ in the […]