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 […]

Melbourne Brindle (1904 - 1995)

Artist. Born Ewart Melbourne Brindle, he began drawing as a teenager and in 1918 moved to San Francisco, where he worked on department store advertisements and painted several scenes, including a now well known one of a tower on the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1938 he relocated to the eastern United States and illustrated for […]

Sophie Alexandrine Croizette (1970 - 1901)

Actress.  Born in St. Petersburg,  Russia to French parents,  Croizette was raised in Paris and debuted at the Comedie-Francaise in 1868,  where she was one of the company’s reigning divas for a dozen years.  For a time she was considered a fierce rival of Sarah Bernhardt but the latter denied this in her autobiography,  claiming […]

Norman Ray Bridwell (1928 - 2014)

American Author and Cartoonist. Bridwell was best known for his “Clifford the Big Red Dog” book series. Norman was born in 1928 at Kokomo, Indiana.He graduated Kokomo High School in 1945.By 1962, Bridwell was married to his wife Norma, and they had an infant daughter Emily Elizabeth, as well as a son named Timothy. At […]

Mary Jane Croft (1916 - 1999)

Actress. She began her career in radio, appearing on such programs as “The Adventures of Sam Spade”, “The Bill Goodwin Show”, “Four-Star Playhouse”, “Blonde” and “The Mel Blanc Show”. For television she was best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on “I Love Lucy”, Mary Jane Lewis on “The Lucy Show” and as Clara […]

William J. Brice Arnstein (1921 - 2008)

Artist. Best known for his grand-scale abstract paintings. His work appears in permanent collections of major museums across the country including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. He taught at the […]

John Brewster (1766 - 1854)

Artist. Born deaf, he was one of eight children of Dr. John Brewster and Mary Durkee Brewster of Hampton, Connecticut. He was apparently taught at an early age to communicate through signs and symbols. He received instruction in painting from the Reverend Joseph Steward and in the 1790s, Brewster traveled through the American Northeast in […]

Jules Breton (1827 - 1906)

Painter and poet. Born to a well-known family from Courrières, a small village in northern France.  His father was a landowner, though also worked as assistant judge and mayor, and managed the estate of the Duke of Duras. His mother died when Jules was just four years old, leaving him and his two brothers to […]

André Breton (1896 - 1966)

Poet, Author, Essayist, Founder of Surrealism. André Breton was born in the Normandy village of Tinchebray, the only child of shopkeepers.  His mother wanted him to become a physician and he went to Paris to study medicine.  While there his interests turned to art and literature.  He served as a medic during World War I […]

Fanny Cradock (1909 - 1994)

Television Figure, Author. Born Phyllis Nan Primrose-Pechey, she is considered the first ever celebrity television cook, appearing with her monocle clad, henpecked husband Major Johnnie Cradock from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Known for her harsh and elaborate demeanour her T.V career began in 1955 with her first programme, ‘Fanny’s Kitchen’, which introduced her famous […]

John E. Brent (1889 - 1962)

Architect. He was Buffalo’s first professional African-American architect and the second African-American to design a “colored” YMCA, Buffalo’s Michigan Avenue YMCA. He was also a founding member of the Buffalo chapter of the NAACP.  (bio by: Deleon Todd)

Phyllis Grayce Cox (1928 - 2004)

Actress. She was Shirley Temple’s understudy and was an original member of the “Our Gang” comedy series. She studied dance with Bill “Beaujangles” Robinson, and danced with Gene Kelly. She could have been a star, but chose instead to fulfill her life’s role as a daughter, niece, wife, mother and grandmother. (bio by: John “J-Cat” […]

Victor David Brenner (1871 - 1924)

Sculptor. He was the designer of the United States Lincoln Cent, the most widely reproduced work of art in America; billions have been minted since production began in 1909. He produced over 125 different medals, badges and plaques during his career. He also produced sculptures, such as the “Song of Nature” which sits on the […]

Arno Breker (1900 - 1991)

Sculptor. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany. He became a sculptor after viewing Rodin’s ‘Age of Bronze’ in the Düsseldorf Museum. From 1927 to 1934 he lived in Paris, where he knew Jean Cocteau, Ernest Hemingway, Man Ray, Jean Renoir and Alexander Calder. His sculptures of this period include “Aurora,” “Sitting Man,” “Torso of David,” […]

George Hendrik Breitner (1857 - 1923)

Artist. A painter and photographer, he was a contemporary and friend of Vincent Van Gogh’s. His reknown came from his photographic approach to paintings. Expelled from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hauge due to his unruly behavior, he lived briefly in Paris before situating himself in Amsterdam, where he spent the remainder […]

Margot Cottens (1922 - 1999)

Actress. She was born in Montevideo (Uruguay) and died in Madrid (Spain). After working in Montevideo on stage and television, she moved to Spain in 1960. Here, she developed the rest of her career on screen and stage, often in comedic roles. She appeared in “El Conde de Montecristo” (1953), “Margatira se Llama mi Amor” […]