Parveen Babi (1949 - 2005)

Actress. She was a major Bollywood star during the 1970s and 80s and appeared in over 50 films during her short but extremely successful film career. She was one of the first Indian actresses to openly flaunt her sexuality, and broke many of the taboos of Hindi films. Unfortunately, she died alone, forgotten by those […]

Frederick Ashton (1904 - 1988)

Ballet Choreographer. Born in Ecuador, he believed to be the second greatest British choreographer (Sir Kenneth MacMillan being first.) He studied dance in London with Massine and joined the Vic-Wells ballet in 1933 and was said to be a very talented character dancer, suited to roles such as Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty. Among the many […]

Laura Ashley (1925 - 1985)

Designer. Although Laura Ashley grew up in London, she was born Laura Mountney in Dolwais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Her love for that bucolic region heavily influenced her designs in home fashion and clothing. Ashley began her design career in London, on her kitchen table, where she sketched out designs for wallpaper, headscarves, placemats, and table […]

Patricia Avery (1902 - 1973)

Actress. Motion Picture star of the silent era. She is interred along with her husband, although her name does not appear on the marker. (bio by: A.J. Marik)

Jean Arp (1887 - 1966)

Artist, Poet. Born in Strasbourg, France, he began his career as a poet, before he developed a succesful work on sculpture and painting (but never abandoing writing poetry). He was a founding member of the Dada movement, becoming one of the most respected abstract artists of his time. In 1950, he executed a relief for […]

Boris Aronson (1899 - 1980)

Theatre Stage Scenic Designer.  Born in Kiev, in the Russian Empire in present day Ukraine. He was the  son of a Jewish rabbi. Boris enrolled in art school during his youth. He became an apprentice to the designer Aleksandra Ekster, who introduced him to the directors Vsevolod Meyerhold and Alexander Tairov, who influenced Boris to […]

Peter Arno (1904 - 1968)

Cartoonist. Born Curtis Arnoux Peters, Jr. to Edith Theresa Haymes and State Supreme Court Justice Curtis Arnoux Peters in New York City. He attended the venerable Hotchkiss boarding school and Yale University where he organized his own band, developing a reputation as a playboy. After leaving school he settled in New York’s Greenwinch Village, and […]

Henry Hugh Armstead (1828 - 1905)

Artist. Born in Bloomsbury, London, he trained first under his father, then at the Government School of Design at Somerset House and afterwards at private art schools. He also studied with Edward Hodges Baily. At the age of eighteen he went to work for the silversmiths Hunt and Roskell. His works included “Kean Testimonial”, a […]

Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (1887 - 1964)

Artist. He was an innovator in translating the elements of cubist painting into a sculptural form.  Family links:  Spouse:  Angelica Archipenko (1883 – 1957)* *Calculated relationship

Edmund Archer (1904 - 1986)

Artist. American portrait and mural painter.  Family links:  Parents:  William Wharton Archer (1854 – 1928)  Sibling:  Sheppard Archer (1898 – 1899)*  Edmund Archer (1904 – 1986) *Calculated relationship

Débora Arango (1907 - 2005)

Artist. She was born in Medellín (Colombia) and died in Envigado (Antioquía, Colombia). She was the disciple of painters Eladio Vélez and Pedro Nel Gómez. In 1939, she shocked the hypocrite moral of colombian society of her time, with her nude painting “Cantarina de Rosa.” She was hardly criticized and almost excommunicated by the catholic […]

José Anzo (1970 - 2006)

Artist. He was born in Utiel (Valencia) and died in Serra (Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain). He was one of the most representative painters of contemporary art in Spain, and one of the introductors of Pop Art. He was member of Estampa Popular, the representative group of Critic Realism in Valencia. His most important work is […]

Alexei Petrovich Antropov (1716 - 1795)

Artist. One of the most influential Russian painters of the 18th Century, best remembered for the sincerity and directness of his portraits. He was also an accomplished icon painter, miniaturist, and metal worker. Antropov was born in St. Petersburg, to the family of a military carpenter. When he was 15, he started his art schooling […]

Pietro Annigoni (1910 - 1988)

Artist. A native of Milan, Italy, he is most notable for his portrait paintings of beggars, and for his 1955 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which has been used on several colonial banknotes including the 1968 Rhodesian note. His portrait of Queen Elizabeth II hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. Known for […]

Fra Angelico (1970 - 1455)

Early Italian Renaissance Artist. Known to contemporaries as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Brother John of Fiesole) and Fra Giovanni Angelico (Angelic Brother John), he was born Guido di Pietro at Rupecanina, in the Mugello region of the then Republic of Florence, in present-day Italy. Nothing is known of his childhood or his parents. In October […]

Mari Andriessen (1897 - 1979)

Artist. Sculptor.  Born and died in Haarlem, Best known for his work memorializing victims of the Holocaust. He studied for several years at the Kunstnijverheids school in Haarlem and then studied sculpture at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, where he was taught by the sculptor Jan Bronner. His first monumental commissions came mainly from the Catholic […]

Eliphalet Frazer Andrews (1835 - 1915)

Portrait Painter. Known for his portraits of Martha Washington, Jefferson, Buchanan, Jackson, Taylor, Johnson, and Garfield, all of which are in the White House. (bio by: Laurie)  Family links:  Spouses:  Mary Emma Andrews (1835 – 1889)*  Marietta Fauntleroy Minnigerode Andrews (1869 – 1932)*  Children:  Mary Lord Andrews (1896 – 1918)*  Eliphalet Fraser Andrews (1898 – […]

Hiroshige Ando (1970 - 1858)

Painter. Generally known as “Hiroshige,” he was born in Edo (Tokyo) as a member of the Tanaka samurai family and subsequently adopted by the Ando family. He studied under Toyokuni Utagawa and Toyohiro Utagawa, taking the name “Hiroshige” in 1911, while his mentors allowed him to take their Utagawa name as well. He developed images […]

Brad Jay Anderson (1924 - 2015)

Cartoonist. He is best remembered for his popular comic strip “Marmaduke” that featured a zany lovable Great Dane dog owned by the Winslow family. Born Bradley Jay Anderson, he began drawing at an early age and sold his first cartoon to Flying Aces magazine when he was 15 years old. Following his graduation from high […]

Totty Ames (1922 - 2015)

Actress. Born Winifred Cope, after graduating high school she immediately got on a bus and went to Hollywood, California. It wasn’t long before her good looks was discovered by area photographers and she was hired to model clothing, swim wear, lingerie and glamour magazine ads. As a popular pin-up girl, she was named many titles, […]

Alexander Anderson, Jr (1920 - 2010)

Cartoonist. Best remembered as the creator of the cartoon characters “Rocky and Bullwinkle”. In 1938 he began his career in animation working with his uncle Paul Terry at New York’s Terrytoons, the studio that turned out “Mighty Mouse”, “Heckle and Jeckle”, and other theatrical shorts. After serving in the US Navy during World War II, […]

Axel Amuchástegui (1970 - 2002)

Artist. An acclaimed naturalist painter, he illustrated a number of books on nature, including “Pájaros Sudamericanos,” “Algunos Pájaros y Mamíferos de Norteamérica” and “Algunos Pájaros y Mamíferos de Africa.”

Lee Judah Ames (1921 - 2011)

Artist, Illustrator. He was regarded as one of the first generation of modern artists of comic book illustration and comic art instruction. In the summer of 1938, he got his first job at a sign advertising agency in New York City. After his High School graduation in 1939, he entered a contest the Disney organization […]

Ezra Ames (1768 - 1836)

Artist.  He was born in Massachusetts but moved with his family to Staatsburg, New York when he was a young child.  He returned to Massachusetts settling in Worcester where he was a successful furniture and carriage painter.  It was here that he began to experiment with painting portraits, specializing in miniatures.  In 1795 he moved […]

José Amérigo Salazar (1915 - 1988)

Artist. He was born in Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana. He studied with the future painters Francisco Lozano, Armando Ramón Vivó, and his teachers were Ricardo Verde Rubio, Vicente Beltrán Grimal and Josep Renau, among others. Among his works “Mujer en la Ventana,” “Silencio” and “Desnudo de Mujer.” He died in his hometown.  (bio by: José L […]

Ambrós “Miguel” Ambrosio Zaragoza (1912 - 1992)

Illustrator. He was born in Albuixech, Valencia. He is fondly remembered for all a generation of childrens for his character “El Capitán Trueno,” created along with the writer Víctor Mora. He also illustrated the comics “El Caballero Fantasma” and “El Corsario de Hierro.” In 1989, he was awarded with the prestigious Saló del Comic de […]

Gustinus Ambrosi (1893 - 1975)

Artist, Poet. Born August Arthur Ambrosi, he was an accomplished musician, but it was his sculptures that brought him early recognition, and he is now considered one of Austria’s greatest sculptors. He specialized in portraits; his work includes, among hundreds of others, busts of Richard Wagner, Gerhard Hauptmann, Friedrich Nietzsche, Benito Mussolini, Anton Wildgans, Stefan […]

Billie Allen (1925 - 2015)

Actress. A versatile performer, she is remembered as one of the first black artists to achieve success on Broadway and to have a regular role in a television series. Born Wilhelmina Louise Allen, she was raised in Richmond’s West End, attended local schools as well as Hampton University, and in 1943 moved to New York […]

Manuel Encarnacion Amador Torreros (1869 - 1952)

Artist, Diplomat. He is best recognized as the designer of the Panamanian flag. Amador studied in Cartagena, Colombia and the United States, receiving his degree in accounting, before taking a position in the Treasury Department. Following independence of the Republic in 1903, he was appointed Minister of Finance. From 1904 until 1908, he served as […]

Barbara Jo “Vera Vague” Allen (1906 - 1974)

Actress. She is best remembered as ‘Vera Vague’ the spinster character she created and portrayed on radio and in films during the 1940s and 1950s. As ‘Vera Vague’, she popularized the catch phrase “You dear boy!” Born in New York City, New York, her acting skills first appeared in school plays. She traveled to Paris, […]