Ford Smith | Abstract painter

As the son of an Air Force serviceman stationed in a small Japanese village, Ford's artistic sensibilities began to take root under the nurturing eye of an elderly Japanese painter when he was just twelve.

After graduating from the University of Mississippi with a BFA in painting, Ford moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he realized a natural talent for photography.

During the late 70's and 80's Ford established his reputation as Atlanta's premier fashion and commercial photographer.

Ernest Ange Duez | Genre painter

Ernest Ange Duez - also known as Ernest-Ange Duez and Ernest Duez, (8 March 1843 - 5 April 1896) was a French painter of genre scenes, portraits, landscapes and religious subjects.

Although he was an admirer of Édouard Manet and owned paintings by Manet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Berthe Morisot, his palette was more subdued than that of most of the Impressionists, and his technique more controlled.

His style, between that of the conservative Paris Salon and Impressionism, has been called juste milieu, and he has been compared to Alfred Stevens, Giuseppe De Nittis and James Tissot.

Edward Cucuel | Impressionist painter

Born in San Francisco, Edward Alfred Cucuel (1875-1954) was an Impressionist painter of genre and figures in landscapes, often using his family members for models rather than professionals.

A specialty was using a vibrant palette and rich impasto to depict women in sun-dappled landscape settings.

At the age of fourteen, he enrolled at the School of Design in San Francisco, and three years later, in 1892, he went to Paris and studied at the Academie Julian.

In 1893, he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts as a student of Jean-Leon Gerome.

Canaletto | St Mark's Square, Venice - The drawing room of Europe

St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as la Piazza ("the Square").

All other urban spaces in the city (except the Piazzetta and the Piazzale Roma) are called campi ("fields").

The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an extension of the Piazza towards San Marco basin in its south east corner.

Edgar Degas (1834-1917) | Drawing

Edgar Degas🎨, born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas (19 July 1834 – 27 September 1917) was a French artist🎨 famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings. He is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers.

He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism🎨, although he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist.