Aug 16 2026
Born on August 16, 1934, in Hope, Arkansas, Ketty Lester built one of those wonderfully unpredictable careers that could only belong to a performer with more than one talent. She first became internationally known through “Love Letters,” a beautifully restrained recording that stood apart from much of the louder, more heavily arranged pop music of …
Aug 15 2026
Born on August 15, 1944, in Iskrets, Bulgaria, Sylvie Vartan became one of the defining faces and voices of French popular culture during the 1960s. With her blond hair, sharp fashion sense, energetic stage presence, and recordings that blended American rock and roll with French pop, she emerged as one of the great stars of …
Aug 12 2026
Born on August 12, 1928, in Sydney, Australia, Charles Blackman became one of the most distinctive painters of postwar Australian art. His mysterious schoolgirls wandering through city streets, dreamlike interpretations of Alice in Wonderland, lovers, flowers, children, gardens, and solitary figures created an artistic world in which everyday life could suddenly become strange, poetic, or …
Aug 11 2026
Born on August 11, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, Walter H. Williams became one of the most distinctive African American expatriate artists of the postwar era. A painter, printmaker, and ceramicist, Williams created an instantly recognizable visual world populated by Black children, sunflowers, butterflies, birds, modest houses, cotton fields, and glowing suns. At first glance, …
Aug 10 2026
Born Veronica Yvette Bennett on August 10, 1943, in New York City, Ronnie Spector became one of the most recognizable voices and images of the 1960s. As the lead singer of the Ronettes, she helped create records that combined teenage longing, streetwise confidence, enormous orchestral production, and a visual style that was every bit as …
Aug 09 2026
Born Wanda LaFaye Young on August 9, 1943, in Michigan, Wanda Young became one of the defining voices of the Marvelettes, the teenage girl group whose success helped transform a small Detroit record company called Motown into a national force. She was present when “Please Mr. Postman” became Motown’s first No. 1 pop single in …
Aug 08 2026
Born on August 8, 1922, in Balatonszemes, Hungary, Károly Reich became one of the country’s most beloved illustrators and graphic artists. Over a career spanning roughly four decades, he created images for hundreds of books, bringing fairy tales, poems, novels, animals, children, mythological figures, and some of the best-known characters in Hungarian literature to life. …
Aug 07 2026
Born on this day, August 7, 1932, in Schiedam, Netherlands, Rien Poortvliet became one of the most recognizable Dutch illustrators of the twentieth century. His richly detailed paintings and drawings celebrated wildlife, rural traditions, history, family life, and an imaginary world populated by remarkably convincing gnomes. Whether he was painting a fox disappearing into the …
Jul 07 2026
Born on this day, July 7, 1887, in Vitebsk, then part of the Russian Empire and now in Belarus, Marc Chagall became one of the most distinctive artists of the 20th century. Lovers floated above rooftops, musicians appeared beside farm animals, villages tilted beneath brilliant skies, and memories of childhood mingled freely with folklore, religion, …
Jul 06 2026
Born on this day, July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Frida Kahlo created some of the most recognizable paintings of the 20th century. Her self-portraits, vivid colors, symbolic imagery, and unflinching explorations of identity made her an artist whose work seems intensely personal while reaching far beyond the circumstances of her own life. Kahlo …
