October 29, 2012
Bob Ross was an American painter, art instructor and television host. He is best known as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a TV program that ran from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the U.S. and Canada. With his wet-on-wet oil painting technique, Ross taught the world that mistakes are just “happy accidents.” He painted an an incalculable number of “happy little trees.” Ross was born on this day in 1942 and died from lymphoma in 1995.
May 10, 2012
Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), he is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, which includes the internationally recognized print The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s. Hokusai died on this day in 1849.
March 6, 2012
An Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Like fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci, he is an archetypal Renaissance man. Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime. His best-known works include David, the Pietà and the frescos in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He was born on this day in 1475.
February 22, 2012
A controversial artist and leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. Warhol’s works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement. His studio (The Factory) was a famous gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons. He died on this day in 1987.
February 21, 2012
A British cartoonist and caricaturist best known for his work with American Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. In addition to illustrating his own books and Thompson’s, Steadman has illustrated editions of Fahrenheit 451, Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island, Animal Farm and the English translation of Flann O’Brien’s gaelic language classic The Poor Mouth.
January 27, 2012
An influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety despite being reclusive. He had a volatile personality, and struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. Pollock died at the age of 44 in an alcohol-related car accident. He was born tomorrow in 1912.
January 6, 2012
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo is the archetype of the Renaissance Man.
October 25, 2011
A Spanish painter and sculptor who lived most of his life in France. He is one of the best-known figures in 20th century art and co-founded the Cubist movement. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist The Young Ladies of Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937). He was born on this day in 1881.
July 29, 2011
A Dutch post-Impressionist painter whose vivid work had a far-reaching influence on 20th century art. He is also famous for his mental illness. In 1888, he famously cut off part of his left ear after a confrontation with his friend Paul Gauguin. He died on this day in 1890, largely unknown, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Now his paintings sell for $100 million.
July 6, 2011
A Mexican painter born on this day in 1907. She claimed her birth date was July 7, 1910 because she allegedly wanted the year of her birth to coincide with the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. She is best known for her self-portraits and married fellow Mexican painter Diego Rivera.
H. R. Giger – No. 571
Hans Rudolf Giger is a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and set designer. He was part of the special effects team that won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for their design work on the 1979 film Alien. Giger suffers from night terrors, a sleep disorder that has inspired his “biomechanical” work. One of Giger’s main influences was Salvador Dalí and he was a personal friend of Timothy Leary. He was born on this day in 1940.
In October 2012, while train-hopping across Europe, Heidi and I toured the Museum H.R. Giger in Château St. Germain in Gruyères, Switzerland. We also had lunch at the otherworldly, skeletal H.R. Giger Bar, where we ate Margherita pizza and I drank a flaming glass of absinthe. It’s an incredible place set in a stunning Swiss Alps landscape.