Clarence Sinclair Bull (1896 - 1979)

Photographer. As head of MGM’s Stills Department from 1924 to 1960, he pioneered celebrity portraiture with his alluring, mysteriously-lit images. Bull was Greta Garbo’s favorite photographer and she posed for him almost exclusively for most of her career. His other famous subjects included Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, and Grace […]

Charles Bulfinch (1763 - 1844)

Architect. He was the first native-born professional architect in the United States. Important commissions include the Connecticut State House in Hartford (1793 to 1796), the Massachusetts State House in Boston (1795 to 1797), Saint Stephen’s Church in Boston (1802 to 1804), and the Maine State House in Augusta (1829 to 1832). In 1818, he was […]

Charles Bulfinch (1763 - 1844)

Architect. He was the first native-born professional architect in the United States. Important commissions include the Connecticut State House in Hartford (1793 to 1796), the Massachusetts State House in Boston (1795 to 1797), Saint Stephen’s Church in Boston (1802 to 1804), and the Maine State House in Augusta (1829 to 1832). In 1818, he was […]

Bebe Daniels (1901 - 1971)

Bebe Daniels Actress. She was a child star, having acted in the Shakespearian play ‘Richard III’ onstage at four years old, earning her first leading part at the age of seven, and starting her movie career at nine years old in 1910. One of her earliest roles was that of Dorothy in the oldest known […]

Beniamino Benevento Bufano (1890 - 1970)

Sculptor. Born in San Fele, Italy, he was a skilled artist known for his unique designs in sculpture. As a child, he moved with his family to New York City, was educated by private tutors and went on to study art at the New York Art Students League in 1913. He developed his craft on […]

Marjorie Lyman Henderson Buell (1904 - 1993)

Cartoonist. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was born Marjorie Lyman Henderson. She is best remembered for being the creator of cartoon characters ‘Little Lulu’ and her friends including ‘Tubby.’ At the age of 16, she had her first cartoon published. In 1934, she was hired by The Saturday Evening Post as a cartoonist and […]

Dorothy Jean Dandridge (1922 - 1965)

Filippo Brunelleschi (1970 - 1446)

Brunelleschi was an archietect/sculptor who built the dome for the cathedral in Florence.

Constantino Brumidi (1805 - 1880)

Artist. Many biographers refer to him as the “Michelangelo of the Capitol.” He grew up in Rome and studied at the Italian Academy of Arts. During the French occupation of Italy he was 47 years of age and decided it was time to immigrate to the United States. He settled in New York City and […]

Joseph Goldsborough Bruff (1804 - 1889)

Artist. Historian. In the 1840s, he worked for the United States Bureau of Topographical Engineers where he created many of the maps used by the United States government, including maps of battle sites from the war with Mexico. In 1849, he was among the “49ers” who headed west during the California Gold Rush. He was […]

Pieter Brueghel, the Elder (1970 - 1569)

Artist. South-Netherlandish painter and father of Jan Bruegel. His contemporaries dubbed him ‘Boeren-Bruegel’ (Farmers-Bruegel) for his skillful sketches of country-life, a nickname that does not do justice to either his work nor his talent. He was an apprentice of Pieter Coecke van Aelst, whose daughter Mayken he later married. He spent some time in France […]

Charles DeWolf Brownell (1822 - 1909)

Artist.  He was raised in Connecticut and became an attorney in 1843.  In the early 1850s an illness led Brownell to give up practicing law for a career as a painter.  In 1854 he received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Hartford’s Trinity College.  After several years of study, in 1860 Brownell established a […]

Dik Browne (1917 - 1989)

Cartoonist. Born Richard Arthur Allan Browne, he was a popular comic artist best known for his newspaper comic strip characters. While serving in the US Army, he began producing work for the Engineer Corps and created a comic strip about The Woman’s Army Corps titled, ” Jenny Jeep”. In the 1940s, he worked as an […]

Augusta Dabney (1918 - 2008)

Actress. Born in Berkeley, California, she is best known to television audiences for her roles in numerous soap operas including, “As the World Turns”, “The Guiding Light”, “General Hospital”, “Another World” and “Loving”. She began her career on the Broadway stage and would appear in the productions, “Another Love Story”, “The Playroom” and “Everything in […]

Lancelot “Capability” Brown (1970 - 1783)

Famed British landscape designer. He served as head gardener at Stowe before moving to London in 1751. He then purchased a small estate at Fenstanton and Hilton in 1767, later acquiring the manor of Fenstanton in 1770. His work is still thriving today across the country at many of the most famous estates in the […]

Ford Madox Brown (1821 - 1893)

Artist. Born in France, he was the son of English parents, and studied painting in Antwerp and Bruges, Belgium. Although he was never a member of the group of English poets and artists known as the “Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood”, he formed close associations with the members, contributed to their journal, and gave lessons to writer William […]

Adrienne D’Ambricourt (1878 - 1957)

Actress. French-born character performer in Hollywood films. She played housekeepers, nurses, and landladies of the Gallic variety, with an occasional society matron thrown in. Her credits include “God Gave Me Twenty Cents” (1926),  “The Trial of Mary Dugan” (1929),  “Svengali” (1931),  “What Price Hollywood?” (1932),  “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936),  “San Francisco” (1936),  “The Story of […]

Bolton Coit Brown (1865 - 1936)

Artist, Lithographer, and Mountaineer. He is remembered as one of the founders of the Byrdcliffe Colony in Woodstock, NY, part of what is now referred to as the Woodstock Art Colony. He attended Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, where he received his Masters Degree in Painting. In 1891 he moved to Stanford, California to create […]

Arthur Page Brown (1859 - 1896)

Architect. He helped create modern San Francisco. Born in Adams, New York, he apprenticed at Stanford White’s firm of McKim, Mead,  and White,  and went into business for himself in 1885.  He was brought to San Francisco in 1889 by Mary Crocker to design a mausoleum for her husband Charles,  president of the Southern Pacific […]

Arthur Brown, Jr (1874 - 1957)

Architect. He is best known for designing San Francisco, California’s landmark Coit Tower in 1933.  A native of Oakland, California, he graduated from the University of California in 1896 and then traveled to Paris, France where he graduated from l’Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1901. After returning to California, he joined John Bakewell Jr. to […]

Romaine Brooks (1874 - 1970)

Painter. She was born Romaine Mary Goddard on May 1, 1874, in Rome, Italy. In 1905, after leaving her husband with a generous annuity, Brooks cut her hair, donned men’s clothes and returned to Paris, where she began painting the portraits for which she became renowned.  In 1915 Brooks met and fell in love with […]

Samuel Marsden Brookes (1816 - 1892)

Noted portrait, landscape, genre scenes and miniature painter. He is considered to be the finest American still life specialist of the 19th century. His paintings are marked by meticulous realism and infinite detail. Founder of the San Francisco Art Association and member of the Bohemian Club. (bio by: Janice Buchanan)

Marcel Broodthaers (1924 - 1976)

Artist. Marcel was more than an artist, from a young age he was associated with the Groupe Surréaliste-revolutionnaire. In 1945 he began dabbling in journalism, film, and poetry. After spending 20 years struggling as a poet, Marcel decided in 1963 to become an artist and began to make objects. He approached visual art with a […]

Cecil Cunningham (1888 - 1959)

Actress. She appeared in 84 films, including “Mata Hari,” “Blonde Venus,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” “Come and Get It,” “The Awful Truth,” “Lillian Russell,” “New Moon,” “Du Barry Was a Lady,” and “The Horn Blows At Midnight.” She was married to writer Jean C. Havez. (bio by: TLS)  Family links:  Spouse:  Jean C. Havez […]

Branwell Bronte (1817 - 1848)

British Painter, Writer, and Poet. He was the brother of the three Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, who all became renowned authors. Born Patrick Branwell Bronte in Thornton, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, he was the fourth of six children of Patrick and Marie Bronte. His father was the Thornton chapel curate and […]

Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (1739 - 1813)

Architect.  His austere style,  combining classical Greek and Roman elements,  had a significant influence on late 18th and early 19th Century French architecture.  Brongniart was born in Paris and studied at the Lycee Condorcet.  He was much in demand for public buildings (hotels,  churches) and private residences,  and after 1782 oversaw new construction at the […]

Fedelma Cullen (1948 - 2003)

Actress. She played in the films, “The Abduction” (2002), “Her Own Rules” (1998), and in an episode of the television series, “Ballykissangel” in 2001. She was also a well-known actress at the Abbey Theater in Dublin, Ireland, from 1967 to 2003. She appeared in many stage productions including, James McKenna’s “At Bantry” in 1967, Tarry […]

Jaime Brocal Remohí (1936 - 2002)

Illustrator and Comic Book Artist. He was born and died in Valencia (Valencian Country, Spain). He began his career as comic book artist in the newspaper Las Provincias with children stories such as Orejitas y Conchi and Los Cuentos de Tribilin. He moved to Editorial Valenciana and later he worked for Editorial Toray in Barcelona. […]

Layne “Shotgun” Britton (1907 - 1993)

Legendary Hollywood Makeup Artist. Born William Tom Layne Britton, his childhood nickname “Shotgun,” by which he was always known, was given to him by his father who said he looked like a “sawed-off shotgun” in his new knickers. His famous clients included Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, the late John Belushi, John Candy and Jane Russell. […]

Peter Britt (1818 - 1905)

Peter Britt was a Swiss immigrant who came to America, and then to Oregon in 1852 with his photography equipment in a wagon.  For 50 years he recorded the life and changes of Southern Oregon.  His photographs and story were published in 1977 in a book titled “Photographer of a Frontier, the Photography of Peter […]