Anna Boch (1848 - 1936)

Painter. She was the only person who bought (in 1890) a painting from Vincent Van Gogh when he was alive : “Les Vignes rouges.”

Umberto Boccioni (1882 - 1916)

Painter, Sculptor, Theorist. The greatest of the Italian Futurists, he celebrated the vitality of the industrial age by seeking to depict time, space, energy, and even sound in his work. Although he was active with that movement only a short period before his premature death, Boccioni’s ideas had far-reaching consequences in the development of 20th […]

Peggie Castle (1927 - 1973)

Actress. Starting out as a magazine model, she made her first film in 1947, and within three years, she was prominently cast as a succession of gun molls, b-girls and murderesses. She was married for a time to producer William McGarry. After abruptly ending her career in 1962, she died in obscurity of cirrhosis of […]

Edward Blore (1787 - 1879)

Architect. Edward was born in Derby. The eldest child of Thomas Blore, a topographer and antiquary. Edward began in his fathers footsteps, becoming apprenticed to an engraver, he became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1823. His precise and atmospheric illustrations for the Rev. Philip Bliss’s Monumental Remains of Noble and Eminent Persons […]

Movita Castaneda (1916 - 2015)

Actress. Born Maria Castaneda, to parents of Mexican-American descent, she had the distinction of being born on a train which was traveling from Mexico to Arizona. Her exotic beauty caught the attention of Paramount Studio which led to her film debut at the age of thirteen in a Spanish-speaking film in 1930. She was cast […]

Enid Lillian Bloom (1924 - 1996)

Highly regarded British sculptor. Born in London, she lived and worked in Hampstead. After training at St. Martin’s School of Art, she became a commercial artist and later studied sculpture with the well known sculptress, Karin Jonzen. Inspired by the human form, her classical bronze and terra cotta figures were modelled in the contemporary fashion. […]

Rudolf Blind (1970 - 1916)

Artist,  Translator. He was born in Brussels to Karl Blind and his wife Friederica (nee Ettlinger), who were from Mannheim in Germany but had been expelled from France for plotting against Louis Napoleon. In 1852, they arrived in England, where Rudolf was educated at University College School in Frognal, North London, and at the Royal […]

Rosalind Cash (1938 - 1995)

Actress. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Cash graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1956. She made her Broadway debut in “The Wayward Stork” in 1966. In the late 1960s, she co-founded the Negro Ensemble Company. Her film career began when she was tapped by Charlton Heston to co-star in “The Omega Man” with […]

Erik Blegvad (1923 - 2014)

Literary illustrator. Mr Blegvad began illustrating books when he immigrated to the United States in 1951, and illustrated over 100 children’s books, some of which are “Bedknob and Broomstick,” which may be his most famous, “This Little Pig-a-Wig and Other Rhymes About Pigs,” which was named one of the best illustrated children’s books of the […]

Jesús Blasco (1919 - 1995)

Illustrator. He was born in Barcelona, Catalunya. He is considered to be one of the masters of Spanish comics, making his debut in 1935, when his first illustrations were published in the Spanish version of the magazine “Mickey.” For “Boliche” magazine, he created “Cuto” one of his best-known characters. In the beginning of the 1950s, […]

María Blanchard (1881 - 1932)

Artist. A leading Cubist painter in the early 20th century. Born in Santander, Spain, Blanchard moved to Madrid to become a painter in 1903,  and continued her studies in Paris on 1909. During this time she was introduced to Cubism after meeting painter Juan Gris. The following year, Blanchard received a medal in the National […]

Ralph Albert Blakelock (1847 - 1919)

Artist. American romantic painter. One of the great original romantic artists of late-19th-century America. After attending a year and a half of college, he dropped out and inspired to take up painting. His highly original work, often painted from memories, was not highly popular among contemporaries. His favorite theme was the deep forest with its […]

Mrs Leslie Carter (1862 - 1937)

Actress. Popular stage actress of the late 1800s, often called “the American Sarah Bernhardt.” She used her married name, “Mrs. Leslie Carter,” as her stage name. Most noted for her roles in “The Heart of Maryland,” “Zaza,” “Du Barry,” and “Adrea.” She is also known for her ‘scandalous’ divorce.  Family links:  Children:  Leslie Dudley Carter […]

Chief Archie Blackowl, Sr (1911 - 1992)

Artist, Cheyenne chief. A descendant of Cheyenne chiefs Crow Necklace and Roman Nose, he became interested in art at the age of six. He studied at Fort Sill, Haskell Indian School, the University of Kansas, the University of Oklahoma, the Chicago Art Institute, and he studied painting under Olaf Nordmark. His art was traditional style, […]

George Caleb Bingham (1811 - 1879)

American painter of landscapes and realistic genre paintings, concerned with the effects of light. Work includes, “Fur Traders Descending the Missouri” (1845). (bio by: Bill Walker)  Family links:  Parents:  Mary J. Amend Bingham (1790 – 1851)  Spouses:  Sarah Bingham (1820 – 1849)*  Martha A. Livingston Bingham (1824 – 1890)*  Martha A Livingston Bingham (1824 – […]

Violet Carson (1898 - 1983)

Actress. At the age of three, she began taking piano lessons, which would be handy in her later years, as she appeared on Songs of Praise,  playing the piano and sang in a beautiful soprano voice, which very few could believe came from her mouth. The reason being, on “Coronation Street,” she played battle axe […]

Walter J. Biggs (1886 - 1968)

Artist. His illustrations over the years have appeared in Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, McCall’s, Cosmopolitan, and in 1963, the Society of Illustrators elected him to the Hall of Fame. (bio by: Laurie)  Family links:  Parents:  Walter Joseph Biggs (1850 – 1905)  Annie Rebecca Southall Biggs (1851 – 1948)  Siblings:  Walter J Biggs (____ – […]

Fred Biesel (1893 - 1954)

Noted Artist. He and his wife Frances Strain were both students of the School of the Chicago Art Institute and were among the earliest of the painters who had settled in the Indiana Dunes. They were both members of a group of radical artists of their time known as “The Ten” or “Ten Artists” and […]

Frances Strain Biesel (1898 - 1962)

Noted Artist. She and her husband Fred Biesel had been students of the School of the Chicago Art Institute. She was a member of the group “The Ten” sometimes referred to “Ten Artists” that exhibited mostly at Marshall Field’s in Chicago from 1920 through the early 1940s. She also exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute […]

Helena Carroll (1928 - 2013)

Actress. Born in Glasgow to parents of Irish descent, her father was acclaimed playwright Paul Vincent Carroll (“Shadow and Substance”, 1937), her mother was a dress designer. Influenced by her father’s profession, she took to the stage. She received private schooling and began her stage career locally (for which included appearing in some of her […]

Albert Bierstadt (1830 - 1902)

Artist. He is best remembered for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. His exhibition pieces were brilliantly crafted images that glorified the American West as a land of promise. Born in Solingen, Rhine Province, Prussia (now Germany), he immigrated with his family to New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1831. He became interested in art […]

Herluf Bidstrup (1912 - 1988)

Artist, Illustrator. After training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen from 1931 to 1935, he began a career as a satirical cartoonist with the Social Democratic daily press, where his cartoons of Hitler and other Nazi leaders provoked several protests from the German embassy. During the German occupation of Denmark he supplied the […]

Jeanne Carpenter (1916 - 1994)

Actress. Appeared while a child in silent films. (bio by: A.J. Marik)

Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856 - 1913)

Architect. She was the first American woman known to have worked as a professional architect. She was born in Waterloo, New York. Blanchard worked primarily in Buffalo, New York and partnered with her husband at Bethune, Bethune & Fuchs. Her work includes the Hotel Lafayette. The Buffalo Meter Company Building was renamed Bethune Hall in […]

Alfred Edmeades Bestall (1892 - 1985)

Artist. He was the Illustrator of the “Rupert Bear” stories in the Daily Express for 30 years. Invited to take over the “Rupert Bear” strip in 1935 when its originator, Mary Tourtel, had to retire due to failing eyesight, he developed and wrote over 270 Rupert adventures, and remained the regular artist and author until […]

Harry Bertoia (1915 - 1978)

Metal sculptor, designer and painter. Bertoia was well-known for his unique work involving metal. He sculpted furniture out of metal and was best known for his Bertoia chair. The chair was a padded wire web resting upon a steel cradle. The chair became a classic of modern design. Bertoia also made many other acclaimed architectural […]

Brenda Hosbrook Carlin (1939 - 1997)

Actress and wife of comedian George Carlin. Between 1977 and 1997 she helped work on many of his television, video and other specials. They include “George Carlin: You Are Diseased” (1999), “George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy” (1997), “George Carlin: What Am I Doing In New Jersey” (1988), George Carlin: The Envelope” (1986) and George […]

Miguel Berrocal (1933 - 2006)

Sculptor.  Born Miguel Ortiz Berrocal in Villanueva de Algaidas, Málaga, Andalucía,  he was a disciple of Ramón Stolz Viciano and was influenced by sculptors Eduardo Chillida and Jorge Oteiza. He is best remembered for the design of the Goya Awards, equivalent to the Oscar in the Spanish Cinema. Berrocal lived and worked for almost 20 […]

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 - 1680)

Artist. A renowned sculptor, he is considered to be the founder of the Baroque style. (bio by: GP)

Antonio Berni (1905 - 1981)

Famed painter, engraver and sculptor. One of the founders of the Argentine new realism. (bio by: 380W)  Family links:  Children:  Lily Berni (1930 – 2013)* *Calculated relationship