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Buffalo Bill: After spending most of his life as a mythical hero who built his reputation by killing the magnificent American Bison in the late
nineteenth century, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody eventually founded "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show." He toured the United States and
much of the world with his festive presentations of authentic Cowboy and Indian battles, rodeo riding, and exhibitions of masterful sharp
shooting. At various times, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show included contemporary celebrities and folk heroes such as Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull. My image of
Buffalo Bill reflects the unique character that inspired audiences from Cleveland, Ohio, to Buckingham Palace and its most celebrated resident, Queen Victoria.
Edgar Allan Poe: Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first horror story
authors of the nineteenth century. His work is haunting, compelling, and often strangely beautiful. My image of the celebrated master of the macabre captures that inspired look of tragic genius that is found
on every page of the poems and short stories that have frightened and delighted readers and audiences for more than 150 years.
Albert Einstein: Albert Einstein was recently declared “The Person of
the Century." His Theory of Relativity has changed humanity's entire perception of the universe and the world around us. He is known for his
genius as a scientist, his quirky habits, and funny way of dressing as well as his humanitarianism. His face is one of the most recognized and most reproduced in the world. The two images of Einstein now in
my collection are only the beginning of a series of images of one of the greatest scientists of the millennium.
Joe DiMaggio: “Joltin”Joe Dimaggio was the heart and soul of the New
York Yankees of the 1940s and early 1950s. His record of getting a hit in the most consecutive games is still one of the most remarkable records
ever achieved by an athlete. Sports writers considered him the "perfect" player. He excelled in every aspect of the game, from hitting to fielding to
base running. When he married sex goddess, Marilyn Monroe, America thought that this was the ideal couple. With their marriage, the two most
recognized and adored personalities of the era supplied fans everywhere with yet another level of fantasy to enjoy. Although divorced after a marriage that didn't last
very long, Joe's friends new that he never stopped loving Marilyn, and until his death, continued to place a bouquet of flowers on her grave.
Babe Ruth: Babe Ruth is considered by many to be the greatest
baseball player of all time. Although he retired from baseball in the late 1940s after a twenty year plus career, it took another twenty years for his 60 home run season record to be broken by Roger Maris and
another generation for his 714 lifetime home run record to be broken by Henry Aaron. Known to his fans as the "Sultan of Swing," Babe Ruth
could purportedly blast a home run, on occasion literally out of the ball park much to everyone's astonishment and delight. My image of "The Babe" reproduces not
only the pose of his famous swing, but also his fun-loving nature. To Babe Ruth, baseball was only the best part of that wonderful game he called life.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart is probably the greatest musical prodigy of all time. He composed "Thirteen Variations on a Theme,"
later coming down to us as the melody used for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," when he was only three years old. At six, he composed his first
symphony and was touring Europe as a professional pianist before he was ten years old. Creating some of the most-often performed as well
as most admired musical compositions of all time, Mozart was also a fun-loving, disturbed young man who constantly struggled to balance his private and
professional lives, often choosing one at the expense of the other.
William Shakespeare: The 16th century poet and playwright is
probably the most admired, studied and performed practitioner of the English language. His sonnets and plays have been translated into countless languages, his characters and stories have been the
inspiration for illustrations, television programs, festivals, movies, paintings and sculpture for the past four hundred years. He was
renowned for his intelligence, his wit, but most particularly with his ability to turn a phrase in English in a way that no one else has ever been able to do with quite the same mastery and beauty.
Higher Ed: This is a trio of characters that I invented, which humorously poke fun of the institutional hypocrisy attached to those
letters “PhD.” It comes from the age-old dig: when you graduate from college you're full of BS. When you receive the degree on the
next level it is called an MS or “more of the same.” And when you make the ultimate educational commitment to go as high as you can
go, you receive your PhD, or as we folks in the business call it: “Piled Higher and Deeper!.” Each character in my illustration wears a letter representing those
words. I have given them names: Peter Piled, Henry Hier and Dennis Deeper.
The Tickle Bug: The Tickle Bug is a creature brought to life through my imagination. When my daughter was a little girl, I used to amuse
her by saying, "Here comes the Tickle Bug," and then tickled her until she giggled and cried from the joy of it. It is not only a funny looking
bug, but is the symbol of the joy that all parents receive from the intimate and unique relationship they have with their children while they are still children.
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