Carl Barks (1901 - 2000)

Cartoonist, artist and painter. Born to William Barks and his wife Arminta Johnson. Carl had one older brother named Clyde. Carl always admitted he had a lonely childhood, only 10 students including himself in the small schoolhouse two miles away from his home that he walked every morning. In 1908 Carl and his family moved […]

Frances Westerman Bergen (1922 - 2006)

Actress. The wife of entertainer Edgar Bergen and mother of actress Candice Bergen. She started her career as a model in New York. She was “the Chesterfield Cigarette Girl” and “the Ipana Girl” in magazines and on billboards. At age 19 she caught the eye of her future husband at one of his shows. He […]

Juan Barjola (1919 - 2004)

Painter. He was born in Torre de Miguel Sesmero (Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain) and died in Madrid (Spain). His work is included in the Expresionism movement along wiht Francis Bacon and James Ensor. He is remembered for his paintings “Retablo de las Maravillas,” “Momento Erótico,” “Faz, Disfraz, Antifaz,” “Dama ante el Espejo” and “Mesa Matadero.” (bio […]

Jenő Barcsay (1900 - 1988)

Artist. He was considered the Master of the Human Form. Born in Transylvania in the town of Katona, but moved to Budapest in 1919. He spent a year in Paris after graduating from art school in Hungary. He was influenced a great deal by the artist Cezanne. While visiting Italy he was then greatly influenced […]

McClelland Barclay (1891 - 1943)

American Artist and Naval Officer. He was already a very successful artist and illustrator prior to becoming a Lieutenent Commander in the United States Naval Reserve. He studied under such prominent artists as Halsey Cooley Ives, George B. Bridgman and Thomas Fogarty and his illustrations were regularly seen on the covers of magazines such as […]

Marjorie Bennett (1896 - 1982)

Actress. Born in York, Australia. Died of cancer. Sister of actress Enid Bennett and Catherine Bennett. Appeared in “Kiss Me Deadly” (1955) and “Coogan’s Bluff” (1968).

Marcel Barbeau (1925 - 2016)

Artist. Known as a pioneer of abstract art in Canada, he created more than 4,000 works in a career that spanned eight decades. He studied at the École du Meuble in Montreal from 1942 to 1947, where he was taught by Paul-Émile Borduas. In 1948, he was one of the original members of a group […]

Mabel Adrienne Morrison Bennett (1883 - 1940)

Actress. Mother of Constance, Barbara and Joan Bennett. Stage actress and daughter of Rose Wood and stage actor Lewis Morrison. In films from 1914 to 1917. Married to Richard Bennett from 1903 to 1925. Married Eric Pinker in 1927.  Family links:  Spouse:  Richard Bennett (1870 – 1944)*  Children:  Constance Bennett (1904 – 1965)*  Barbara Jane […]

Miklos Barabas (1810 - 1898)

Artist.  Miklos was born in Kézdimárkosfalva, Mărcuşa in Romanian.  Educated at the Protestant school of Nagyenyed. He painted from an early age and in 1829 he was a pupil of J. Ender in Vienna.  His study tour in Italy during 1834-1835 proved to be highly fruitful. He took over the technique of painting water colour […]

Francisco Baños Martos (1970 - 2006)

Painter. He was born in Linares (Jaén) and died in Valencia (Comunidad Valenciana), Spain. Among his works, he is best remembered for his religious paintings such as the mural of the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Linarejos and the presbitery of the Church of San Isidoro (Valencia). He was cremated in Valencia. (bio by: José […]

Edward Mitchell Bannister (1970 - 1901)

Painter. He was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick to a father from Barbados and a mother who was believed to be of Scottish descent. After the death of his mother, who had encouraged his early artistic interest, he worked several years at sea in Canada before moving to Boston, Massachusetts in 1848. While working […]

Thomas Banks (1735 - 1805)

Sculptor. Thomas was the son of a surveyor who was the land steward to the Duke of Beaufort, he was born in London. Thomas was taught drawing by his father, and in 1750 was apprenticed to a woodcarver. In 1772 he obtained a travelling studentship given by the Royal Academy and proceeded to Rome. He […]

Nelly Beltrán (1925 - 2007)

Actress. Considered one of the most beloved Argentinian performers. Beltrán debuted on stage in the late 1940s, playing in “Las Lágrimas También Se Secan.” She then made her 1955 screen debut in “Para Vestir Santos.”  During her lengthy career Beltrán played both comedic and dramatic roles and became one of the most popular faces of […]

Milton H Bancroft (1866 - 1947)

Artist. Specializing in portaits, he experimented with various techniques in landscape studies. He created the mural decoration for Court of the Seasons and the Panama-Pacific Expo. (bio by: Laurie)

Balthus (1908 - 2001)

Artist. He is internationally renowned and revered as one of the greatest realist painters of the 20th century. Like most geniuses, he was a controversial eccentric who was a deliberate enigma and self-styled recluse with only very rare contact with the public. The French-born, Polish artist died at his chateau in a small village near […]

Janos Nagy Balogh (1874 - 1919)

Artist.  Born in Budapest to a working class family.  He grew up to start his passion for painting as a house painter. Janos went on to study at the School of Industrial Trade Drawing in Budapest for two years, and attended an evening course of the School of Design in 1898-99.  He joined the army […]

Hugo Ballin (1879 - 1956)

Artist, Director, Writer. As a painter his first ceiling mural was in the Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison in 1913. In 1917 he received commissions for murals at the Los Angeles Times Building and the City Hall in Burbank, California. These caught the eye of film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who hired him as a […]

Tonico “Antonio” Ballester Vilaseca (1910 - 2001)

Artist. He was born in Valencia (Comunidad Valenciana) and died in Alella (Catalunya). He was a representative of the Vanguard sculpture in the 1930s in Spain, during the Second Spanish Republic. He was the son of sculptor Antonio Ballester Aparicio and the cousin of baritone Vicente Ballester Aparicio. Also, his sisters Rosita and Manuela were […]

Ethel Beard (1918 - 2003)

Actress. Beard appeared on radio in the 1940s with the likes of Hume Cronyn, Jonathan Winters, and Sid Caesar, as part of the Experimental Radio Theater, also known as, Experimental Playhouse of the Air. From 1960 to 1962, Beard was a hostess on Merv Griffin’s television game show, “Play Your Hunch.”  Family links:  Spouse:  William […]

Arturo Ballester Marco (1892 - 1981)

Painter, illustrator and poster designer. He was born and died in Valencia (Comunidad Valenciana, Spain). He attended the School of Arts and Trades at the School of San Carlos of Valencia. Afterwards, Ballester worked as an illustrator for several Valencian magazines such as La Traca Nova, El Guante Blanco or Rondalles Noves. The posters he […]

Hugo Ball (1886 - 1927)

Artist. Regarded as the “Father of Dadaism”, he founded “Cabaret Voltaire”. He was the inventor of dadaist phonetic poetry, and wrote essays about “Siddhartha” author Hermann Hesse.  (bio by: Apats)  Family links:  Spouse:  Emmy Hennings (1885 – 1948)* *Calculated relationship

Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895 - 1972)

Fashion Designer. He was born in Getaria, Guipúzcoa, País Vasco, Spain. In 1914, he opened the House of Balenciaga in San Sebastián, and he get a big success between the aristocratic clients. In the 30’s, he moved to Paris, where developed almost all his career. He is considered as designer’s designer, a master of haute […]

Jürgen Baldiga (1959 - 1993)

Photographer.  Born in rural Germany, the son of a miner, the young Baldiga moved to Berlin in 1979. There, he undertook a number of odd jobs to support himself, including bartender, cook, and prostitute. By 1985, he had become known on the Berlin art scene as a self-taught photographer and as a popular figure in […]

Frances Elizabeth Bavier (1902 - 1989)

Actress, most noted for her performance as “Aunt Bee” on the Andy Griffith Show TV series. She appeared in 10 films and 4 television series. Born in New York City, she began her acting career in April 1925, on Broadway, in the play “The Poor Nut.” During World War II, she travelled with the USO […]

César Baldaccini (1921 - 1998)

Artist and Sculptor. Born in Marseille, his studies were at the Marseille academy from 1935 to 1939 and at the Paris academy from 1943 to 1947. He began making sculptures by welding together pieces of scrap metal in 1952 and first made his reputation with solid welded sculptures of insects, various kinds of animals, and […]

George Balanchine (1904 - 1983)

Choreographer. The son of a composer, he began studying the piano at the age of five and started his dance studies at the age of nine at the St. Petersburg academy. He was graduated from the Imperial Ballet School in 1921 and then enrolled in the state’s Conservatory of Music where he studied piano and […]

Léon Samoilovitch Bakst (1866 - 1924)

Artist. A co-founder of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, his boldly-colored creations for that troupe had an international influence on fashion and interior design. (bio by: Mademoiselle)  Family links:  Spouse:  Lyubov Pavlovna Tretyakov Gritsenko (1870 – 1928)*  Children:  Andre Lvovich Bakst (1907 – 1972)* *Calculated relationship

George Poston Baker (1931 - 1997)

Acclaimed Sculptor. Well-known for his abstract works, such as “Nebraska Wind Sculpture,” which is located along Interestate 80 at the Kearney, Nebraska interchange. Other celebrated works include a fountain at the World Trade Center in Long Beach, California, and a kinetic fountain at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He has many other works […]

Edward Hodges Baily (1788 - 1867)

Sculpted statue at the head of Nelson’s Column and the busts of Lawrence, Byron and Faraday.

Martine Bartlett (1925 - 2006)

Actress.  Martine Bartlett was born the middle child of three to George Daniel Bartlett, an attorney, and his wife, Martine Fons. She graduated from private schools, John Burroughs School and then Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.  She received a Masters degree from the Drama School at Yale University. While in St. Louis, she gained […]