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Sheeler, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Sheeler, Charles, 1883–1965, American painter and photographer, b. Philadelphia, studied at the School of Industrial Art there and later at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under William M....

Corcoran, William Wilson

(Encyclopedia)Corcoran, William Wilson kôrˈkərən [key], 1798–1888, American financier, philanthropist, and art collector, b. Georgetown, D.C. After becoming a successful banker, he retired in 1854 and devoted...

Langer, Susanne Knauth

(Encyclopedia)Langer, Susanne Knauth nouth lăngˈər [key], 1895–1986, American philosopher, b. New York City, grad. Radcliffe (B.A., 1920; Ph.D., 1926). After holding various teaching posts, she was a lecturer ...

Klimt, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Klimt, Gustav go͝osˈtäf klĭmt [key], 1862–1918, Austrian painter. He cofounded the Vienna Secession group, an alliance against 19th-century eclecticism in art, and in 1897 became its first presi...

Bearden, Romare

(Encyclopedia)Bearden, Romare rōmâr bĭrˈdən [key], 1911–88, American painter and collagist, b. Charlotte, N.C. Bearden grew up in Harlem and studied at New York Univ. and the Art Students League, New York Ci...

Hermitage, museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Hermitage ĕrˌmētäzhˈ [key], museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, one of the world's foremost houses of art, consisting of six buildings along the embankment of the Neva River. Its central building, ...

Kirchner, Ernst Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Kirchner, Ernst Ludwig ĕrnst lo͝otˈvĭkh kĭrkhˈnər [key], 1880–1938, German expressionist painter and graphic artist. He studied art in Munich and was greatly impressed by the neoimpressionist...

Matisse, Henri

(Encyclopedia)Matisse, Henri äNrēˈ mätēsˈ [key], 1869–1954, French painter, sculptor, and lithographer. Along with Picasso, Matisse is considered one of the two foremost artists of the modern period. His co...

Lawrence, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, Jacob (Jacob Armstead Lawrence), 1917–2000, American painter, b. Atlantic City, N.J. One of the most important African-American artists of the late 20th cent., Lawrence focused on social a...

aesthetics

(Encyclopedia)aesthetics ĕsthĕtˈĭks [key], the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of art and the criteria of artistic judgment. The classical conception of art as the imitation of nature was...