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The life of a nation is told by the lives of its people

 

 

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Information for Librarians

What's new: February 2023

The February update of the American National Biography features five new essays, including Robert Indiana, the artist behind the LOVE image; R&B singer Luther Vandross; art critic John Edwin Canaday; Al Swearingen, the violent brothel owner from Deadwood, South Dakota; and Gladys Heldman, tennis player, founder of World Tennis magazine, and organizer of the Virginia Slims Circuit women’s tennis tour.

Robert Indiana

Robert Indiana (1928–2018) was a painter and sculptor at the forefront of American Pop Art. He created LOVE, which remains one of the most recognizable images American art has ever produced. Indiana’s word-image style has exerted a lasting influence on global visual culture.

 

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FEBRUARY 23, 2023

What's New: February 2023

The February update of the American National Biography features five new essays, including Robert Indiana, the artist behind the LOVE image; R&B singer Luther Vandross; art critic John Edwin Canaday; Al Swearingen, the violent brothel owner from Deadwood, South Dakota; and Gladys Heldman, tennis player, founder of World Tennis magazine, and organizer of the Virginia Slims Circuit women’s tennis tour.

JANUARY 26, 2023

What's New: January 2023

The January update of the American National Biography features five new essays, including actor, playwright, director, and civil rights activist Ossie Davis; New York magazine founder Clay Felker Schuette; and baseball players Bob Gibson, Joe Morgan, and Al Kaline.

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

What's New: November 2022

The November update of the American National Biography features five new essays, including food writer and television star Anthony Bourdain; Roberta Johnson Dunbar, Rhode Island clubwoman and civil rights activist; long-time 60 Minutes reporter Morley Safer; crime novelist Mickey Spillane; Sidney Maurice Levyson, disability activist and writer (under the name Stanley Stein) who advocated on behalf of people suffering from Hansen’s disease.