Sep 01 2026
Born on September 1, 1913, in Vienna, Ludwig Merwart became one of the distinctive voices of postwar Austrian abstraction. A painter and printmaker fascinated by texture, color, movement, and experimentation, Merwart developed an artistic language that reflected the restless spirit of European art after World War II. He is remembered especially for his remarkable iron …
Aug 30 2026
Born on August 30, 1929, in Cambrai, France, Guy de Lussigny spent much of his artistic life working with an extraordinarily limited vocabulary: squares, straight lines, carefully controlled space, and color. From those simple elements, however, he constructed a remarkably varied body of work. Lussigny belonged to the generation of European artists who came of …
Aug 29 2026
Born on August 29, 1942, on Long Island, New York, Sterling Morrison became an essential part of one of the most influential bands of the 1960s without ever becoming its most famous member. As a guitarist in the Velvet Underground, Morrison played alongside Lou Reed, John Cale, and Maureen Tucker in a group whose music …
Aug 28 2026
Born on August 28, 1941, in Dublin, Michael Craig-Martin has spent more than half a century asking deceptively simple questions about the objects surrounding us. What exactly are we looking at when we see a chair, a light bulb, a shoe, a glass, or a telephone? How much information does an image need before we …
Aug 27 2026
Born on August 27, 1959, in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, Juan Fernando Cobo Agudelo spent more than four decades moving between painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, public art, publishing, and cultural promotion. His career carried him from Colombia to Madrid and New York, while his work moved easily between the recognizable human figure and increasingly abstract …
Aug 26 2026
Born on August 26, 1944, in Queens, New York, Maureen “Moe” Tucker became one of rock music’s most distinctive drummers by ignoring many of the conventions associated with the instrument. She often played standing rather than sitting. Her drum setup was famously spare, and she generally avoided the elaborate cymbal work and flashy fills that …
Aug 25 2026
Born on August 25, 1933, in Newark, New Jersey, Wayne Shorter spent more than six decades refusing to stay in one musical place for very long. As a tenor and soprano saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and collaborator, he became part of some of the most adventurous music created during the second half of the 20th century. …
Aug 24 2026
Born on August 24, 1926, in Cleveland, Ohio, Nancy Spero spent more than half a century using art to confront war, political violence, inequality, and the persistent marginalization of women. Her work could be furious, unsettling, fragile, celebratory, or even playful, but it was rarely passive. Spero developed a visual language unlike that of almost …
Aug 23 2026
Born on August 23, 1900, in San Francisco, Malvina Reynolds became one of the most distinctive voices of the American folk revival by proving that a songwriter did not need youth, glamour, or a conventional entertainment career to make an enormous cultural impact. Reynolds was already well into middle age when songwriting became the center …
Aug 18 2026
Born on August 18, 1931, in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Myrna Báez became one of the most important Puerto Rican painters and printmakers of the second half of the 20th century. Across a career lasting more than six decades, she explored landscape, portraiture, the human figure, interior spaces, printmaking, color, and above all the extraordinary qualities …
