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Born in Philadelphia on July 26, 1796, George Catlin became known as the first artist to focus on the Plains Indians as his specialist subject. He worked as a lawyer until 1823 when, although he was self-taught as an artist, he began to establish himself as a portrait painter. In 1826 he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Design.In 1828 Catlin saw a delegation of Plains Indians who were passing through Philadelphia on their way to Washington DC to lobby the US Government o …

Tom Thomson was a Canadian artist of the 20th century. He directly influenced the group of painters known as the group of seven. He was not a member of the group, since he died before it was formed. Thomson was born in Ontario and grew up in Leith, Ontario. His landscapes reflect his appreciation of the Canadian wilderness. Thomson was mostly self taught. He learned to draw and paint as a child, but did not become serious until his thirties. The Canadian wilderness was a major source of h …

Clarence Gagnon was a Canadian Quebecois painter born in 1881 in Montreal Quebec. Much of the life of Clarence Gagnon has gone undocumented, in part due to the fame and fortune enjoyed by European and American artists and painters, Canadian artists and painters often went unnoticed. The vast size of Canada didn't make it easy to travel to galleries and exhibitions either, nor did the harsh winters and large snowfalls. Travel was especially difficult back in Gagnon's earlier years. Cars we …

Charles-Joseph Natoire was a French artist who was born in Nimes, France in the year 1700. Natoire first learned how to draw from his father, who worked as a sculptor. At the age of seventeen he went to the capital, Paris, to attend the prestigious art school, the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. He studied in the studio of professor Louis Galloche, the peintre du Roi of the Académie, and then in the atelier of another great artist, François Lemoyne. In the year 1721 his painti …

Charles Le Brun was a painter artist, and art theorist born in Paris, France in the year 1619. Charles was something of an artistic prodigy as a boy, and by the age of eleven he was already studying art at the studio the famous painter, Simon Vouet. His career was being fostered by Chancellor Séguier, a French political figure, who saw the talent and potential that the young Charles had. It was Chancellor Séguier who set him up with his next tutor, the great François Perrier. By the age o …