Famous Visual Artist / Painters Graves
Andy Warhol. Artist, Author. He gave birth to the Pop Art movement, and his paintings of the Campbell’s soup cans brought him to the attention of the art world. Born, raised and schooled in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Carpathian immigrant parents from Slovakia. He received his drawing skills and training from Carnegie Institute of Technology, then moved to New York City, gaining success as a commercial artist. He set up a building where he manufactured his art and filmed movies, a place known as The Factory. It was here he came close to death when mentally unbalanced Valerie Solanis came to this location in 1969 and shot him in the chest but he survived. A hereditary gallbladder disease was passed onto Andy Warhol through his father. After complications from bladder surgery at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, he died at the age of 58. His body was shipped back to Castle Shannon for burial where a funeral mass was celebrated at St John Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church. A later memorial service was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral attended by over 2,000 people. The Andy Warhol Museum opened in Pittsburgh in 1994, which was the site selected by The Postal Service to issue a 37-cent commemorative stamp in 2002 featuring a self portrait of Andy Warhol.
Norman Rockwell. Artist. Renowned American painter and illustrator, most remembered for his paintings depicting American life and American values at their best. Born in New York City, he had a desire to be an artist from a very young age. At age 14, he enrolled in the Chase School of Art (later, New York School of Art). In 1910, he left to study art at the National Academy of Design, and later transferred to the Art Students League, where he studied with famed artists Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman. He found success early, painting his first commissioned pieces before his 16th birthday. As a teenager, he was hired as the Art Director for “Boy’s Life” the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America. Settling in to New Rochelle, New York, he set up a studio, producing artwork for various magazines. In 1916, he sold his first painting to “The Saturday Evening Post” magazine, and began a relationship that lasted 47 years. When he moved his family to Arlington, Vermont, his works began to reflect small-town America. In 1943, inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he painted the “Four Freedoms” considered by many to be his finest work. His style included painting himself into any large crowd scenes. In 1953, the family moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where his wife, Mary, died unexpectedly in 1959. In 1961, he married another school teacher, Molly Punderson, and two years later, ended his 47 year work with “Saturday Evening Post” to move on to “Look” magazine, for who he worked the next ten years. In 1973, he established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy with the Stockbridge Historical Society, who founded the Norman Rockwell Museum. In 1977, in failing health, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor for an American citizen. He died at his home in Stockbridge in 1978
James Montgomery Flagg. Illustrator. He created the 1917 World War I United States Army recruitment poster that depicted “Uncle Sam” pointing at the viewer with the caption “I Want YOU for U.S. Army”, a work that has become famous and iconic in American history. Born in Pelham Manor, New York, he began to draw at a young age, getting his first work published in national magazines by the age of 12. At the age of 14 he was a contributing artist for “Life” magazine. From 1894 through 1898, he attended the Art Students League of New York, then studied fine art in London, England and Paris, France from 1898 to 1900. When he return to the United States, he produced numerous illustrations for books, magazine covers, political and humorous cartoons, advertising, and spot drawings. Among his creations was a comic strip that appeared regularly in “Judge” from 1903 until 1907, about a tramp character titled “Nervy Nat”. When the United States entered World War I, he was commissioned by the Army to produce a recruitment poster, the result of which was his most famous work. Over four million copies of the poster were printed during the war, and it was revived for World War II. He published his autobiography, “Roses and Buckshot”, in 1946. He also painted portraits, with some of his work hanging today in the Great Hall of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. He died at the age of 82.
Dr Donald E. Campbell was a small-town physician who made house calls for more than 50 years. Artist Norman Rockwell, who was a patient and neighbor of Dr. Campbell’s, used him for several illustrations. Probably the most famous painting depicting Dr. Campbell was Rockwell’s “Before the Shot” that was created for the cover of Saturday Evening Post in 1958. Dr. Campbell did his own laboratory work and developed his own x-rays and continued making house calls until he retired on his 83rd birthday.
Maria Howard Weeden. Artist, Author. She used the professional name Howard Weeden. In her time she was known worldwide for her artwork. Her skills with brush and pen were exhibited through hand-painted cards for special occasions, elaborate booklets for weddings, dinner cards, favors for parties, and cards for condolence. She became best known for her paintings of slaves. Many of the costumes for “Gone With the Wind” were based on her portraits. She published four books: “Shadows on the Wall” (1898), “Bandanna Ballads” (1899), “Songs of the Old South” (1901), and “Old Voices” (1904).
William Rinehart. Sculptor. Born near Union Bridge in Carroll County, Maryland, he is considered Maryland’s most prominent Neo-Classical sculptor. Beginning his career working in the stone yard of Baughman and Bevan on the site of what today is The Peabody Institute in Baltimore his early patron was William Thompson Walters, founder of the Walters Art Gallery (now Museum). His financial support made possible the sculptor’s study in Florence. After completing his studies he returned to Baltimore for a year, but he then returned to Italy and settled there permanently. His Italian studio was frequently visited by American artists and he had a steady flow of American commissions including a portrait bust in 1862 of Mrs. W T Walters which is now part of the Walters Art Museum collection. He was also commissioned to create an allegorical memorial for the Walters family tomb. He left his estate in trust for the education of sculpture at the Maryland Institute and today the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Institute is one of the most renowned in the country. He made trips to this country in 1866 and 1872 bringing with him during this latter trip his statue of Chief Justice Roger B Taney which in this same year was unveiled in Annapolis Maryland. In 1873 he set sail once more for Italy with a large number of orders. He fell victim to malaria and died in Rome the next year.