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Smithson, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Smithson, Robert, 1938–73, American sculptor, b. Passaic, N.J. After first making modular, serial sculpture, Smithson began to design large-scale earthworks (see land art) in the 1960s. Smithson res...

Ratcliffe, Sir Peter John

(Encyclopedia)Ratcliffe, Sir Peter John, 1954–, British cellular and molecular biologist, M.D., Cambridge, 1987. He has been a researcher at Oxford since 1987. Ratcliffe, along with William Kaelin and Gregg Semen...

Steward, Julian Haynes

(Encyclopedia)Steward, Julian Haynes, 1902–72, American anthropologist, b. Washington, D.C., grad. Cornell, 1925, Ph.D. Univ. of California, 1929. He taught at the Univ. of Michigan (1928–30), Columbia (1946–...

stalactite ornament

(Encyclopedia)stalactite ornament, type of ornament characteristic of Islamic architecture. Generally executed in wood or in plaster over a wood or brick base, it consists of little vertical polygonal or curved nic...

Sumner, Edwin Vose

(Encyclopedia)Sumner, Edwin Vose, 1797–1863, American soldier, Union general in the Civil War, b. Boston. He fought in the Black Hawk War and in the Mexican War. Made colonel of the 1st Cavalry in 1855, he was co...

Sexton, Anne

(Encyclopedia)Sexton, Anne (Harvey), 1928–74, American poet, b. Newton, Mass. Educated at Garland Junior College and at Radcliffe, she worked briefly as a fashion model in Boston. Her “confessional poetry” is...

shell money

(Encyclopedia)shell money, medium of exchange consisting of shells, the most widely distributed type of ancient currency. Shells are particularly useful as money because they may be strung in long strips of proport...

Prendergast, Maurice Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1859–1924, American painter, b. St. John's, N.L., Canada, educated in Boston. In 1886 he worked his way to Europe on a cattle boat and studied in Paris at Julian's and a...

Aguirre, Lope de

(Encyclopedia)Aguirre, Lope de lōˈpā ᵺā agēˈrā [key], c.1510–1561, Spanish rebel and adventurer in colonial South America. He was often involved in violence and sedition before joining (1560) the expedit...

Caravaggio, Polidoro Caldara da

(Encyclopedia)Caravaggio, Polidoro Caldara da dä kärävädˈjō [key], c.1496–1543, Italian painter. His surname, Caravaggio, came from his birthplace. A student of Raphael, he was responsible for some of the ...