James Barry (1741 - 1806)

Artist. He is best remembered for his six part series of paintings entitled The Progress of Human Culture in the Great Room of the Royal Society of Arts. Born in Cork, Ireland his father was a builder and later a coastal trader between Ireland and England. He convinced his father to allow him to study […]

David Francis Barry (1854 - 1934)

Photographer. Went out on his own at about the age of 17 as a photography apprentice to Orland Scott Goff, and became a famous photographer of Native American Indians. He counted as friends such figures as Sitting Bull, Chief Gall, “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Kit Carson, General George Armstrong Custer among other late 1800s notables.  Family […]

Montgomery Barrett (1897 - 1949)

Cartoonist and author.  In 1927 he began the syndicated cartoon strip “Jane Arden.”  He wrote various magazine articles and historical novels.  Three of his books with Texas backgrounds were “Sun in Their Eyes” (1944), “Tempered Blade” (1946) and “Smoke up the Valley” (1949).  Family links:  Parents:  Edward W Barrett (1866 – 1950)  Clara Prow Barrett […]

Raoul Barré (1874 - 1932)

Pioneer Cartoonist.  Born Vital Achille Raoul Barré in Montreal,  Quebec,  he went to Paris in 1891 to study at the School of Fine Arts and remained there for several years as a political cartoonist.  His attacks of the French military over the Dreyfus affair (1898) proved too controversial and he returned home soon afterwards.  In […]

Francis James Barraud (1856 - 1924)

Artist. He is remembered for the painting of “Nipper”, the dog on the His Master’s Voice record label. The son of the painter, Henry Barraud, he studied at the Royal Academy Schools, at Heatherley’s Art School in London, and at the Beaux Arts in Antwerp. His brother, Mark, was a painter of stage sets in […]

Rafael Barradas (1890 - 1929)

Painter. Born of Spanish parents in Montevideo, Uruguay,  he moved to Barcelona in 1913, where he would spend most of his career. He worked as illustrator for the magazine “Alfar”,  and with Jorge Luis Borges for “Tableros.” Barradas became a leader of the avant-garde in Spanish painting. Among his works are “Los Emigrantes”, “García Lorca […]

Georgia Bitner (1926 - 2012)

Film and Television Actress. She was an African American film and television actress whose career expanded over a period of seven decades. Born Georgia Rose Bitner, in honor of the state in which she was born, “Georgia”. During her younger years she adored such actors as Hattie McDanial and Josephine Baker so much until her […]

Sidney Howard Barnsley (1865 - 1926)

British Architect. He was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. He trained under Norman Shaw. He and his brother, Ernest, established a Guild Crafts Workshop in Pinsbury Park and at Daneway in Sapperton, Gloucestershire with Ernest Gimson. His works include St. Sophia’s in Surrey, Beechanger in Sapperton, Gyde Almshourses in Painswick, and blocks of cottages […]

Arthur Ernest Barnsley (1863 - 1926)

British Architect. He was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. He trained under architect Sedding. He and his brother established a Guild Crafts Workshop at Pinsbury Park and Daneway in Sappertown, Gloucestershire with Ernest Gimson. Some of his works include interiors at Pinsbury Park, Upper Dorvel House in Sappertown, Rodmarton Manor, and Cottages in Rodmarton […]

Francelia Billington (1895 - 1934)

Actress,  Cinematographer.  Blonde,  slender star of silent films.  Born and raised on a ranch near Dallas,  Texas,  she entered films in 1912 with the Kalem Company and was quickly promoted to leads after the departure of their star,   Alice Joyce.  Her expertise in horse riding made her a natural for westerns though she was […]

Frank A. Barney (1862 - 1954)

Artist. An Impressionist of the American School and one of the most prolific of the artists hired by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, Barney created more than 3000 works during his long career.  A native of the scenic Finger Lakes region of Central New York which inspired much of his artistic […]

Henrietta Barnett (1851 - 1936)

Social reformer and author.  Along with her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, they founded the at Toynbee Hall in 1884, as well as the Henrietta Barnett School in the Hampstead Garden Suburb.  She was awarded the CBE in 1917 and made a  Dame Commander of the OBE in 1924.  She and her husband were buried in […]

Regina Bianchi (1921 - 2013)

Actress. She will perhaps be best remembered for her leading role in the successful play “Filomena Marturano”. Born to parents of French origin, she was cast at young age in Raffaele Viviani’s company theater and then in that of Eduardo De Filippo becoming one of the most popular actresses of the Neapolitan theater. Regina was […]

Will Barnet (1911 - 2012)

Painter. A somewhat difficult artist to classify, he used oil, watercolors, and drawing to create images of attractive ladies and the Maine coast. Raised in the Boston suburbs, he began his art career by sketching Colonial era grave stones in the local cemetery and as a child was able to observe the great portraitist John […]

George N. Barnard (1819 - 1902)

Photographer. He was born in Coventry, Connecticut, and opened his first daguerreotype gallery in Oswego, New York, in 1843. After years of practice with portraiture and landscapes, in 1853 he took 2 landmark images, shots of a gigantic Oswego mill fire, that were among the world’s first news photographs. After moving his studios to Syracuse […]

George Grey Barnard (1863 - 1938)

Artist. A sculptor, he was born Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Kankakee, Illinois. He first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts while working in P. T. Cavelier’s atelier in Paris in 1883–1887. He resided in Paris for twelve years, then returned to America in 1896. His early […]

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)