Norman Rockwell

popular name: Andy Warhol

date_of_death: February 22, 1987

age: 58

cause_of_death: Post-operative cardiac arrhythmia

claim_to_fame: Artists

best_know_for: Andy Warhol was an American artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as the Pop Art movement. Like his contemporaries Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein, Warhol wryly responded to the mass media of the 1960s. His silkscreen-printed paintings of cultural and consumer icons, featuring Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as Campbell's Soup cans and Brillo boxes, would make him one of the most famous artists of his generation. Before becoming a pop icon, Warhol graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1949, moving to New York to pursue a career in commercial illustration. Warhol's illustrations for editorials like Vogue and Glamour during the 1950s led him to financial success. In 1964, Warhol rented a studio loft on East 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, which was later known as the Factory. Quick to realize the cult of celebrity, the Factory acted as a hub for fashionable movie stars, models, and artists who became fodder for his prints and films, as well as a performance venue for The Velvet Underground. The prolific artist worked across painting, sculpture, and new media throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

popular name: Camille Corot

date_of_death: 22 February 22, 1875

age: 78

cause_of_death: Stomach disease

claim_to_fame: Artists

best_know_for: Camille Corot (1796–1875) was a French artist known for his landscape paintings and his role in the development of the Barbizon School. Born in Paris, he initially studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, but he also developed a deep passion for nature, which greatly influenced his work. Corot’s early career involved portrait painting, but he gained fame for his landscapes, especially those inspired by his travels in Italy. Corot became renowned for his poetic approach to nature, with a focus on light and atmosphere. His innovative use of color and brushwork had a significant impact on later artists, particularly the Impressionists. Corot was known for working both outdoors, directly from nature, and in the studio, creating a balance between realism and a more emotional, idealized vision of the landscape. Some of most important works include Ville d'Avray (1865), Venise, La Piazetta and The Bridge at Narni. Throughout his life, Corot received recognition and success, but he remained modest and humble about his work. He exhibited widely, particularly at the Salon, and was highly respected by his contemporaries including Jean-François Millet, Théodore Rousseau, Charles-François Daubigny and Honoré Daumier. His legacy endures as one of the key figures in the transition from classical to modern art, influencing both landscape painting and the evolution of plein-air techniques. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, France.

popular name: Andrew Wyeth

date_of_death: January 16, 2009

age: 91

cause_of_death: Died in his sleep after a brief illness.

claim_to_fame: Artists

best_know_for: Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) was a prominent American realist painter, best known for his detailed and emotionally evocative works that captured the rural landscapes and people of Pennsylvania and Maine. Born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, he was the youngest of five children of famed illustrator N.C. Wyeth, who served as both his teacher and greatest influence. Wyeth gained national recognition in 1948 with his painting Christina’s World, which became one of the most iconic images in American art. Throughout his career, he worked primarily in watercolor and tempera, developing a muted, meticulous style that reflected his introspective nature and deep attachment to his surroundings. Despite his popularity with the public, Wyeth’s work often sparked debate among critics, some praising his technical mastery and emotional depth, while others viewed him as overly nostalgic.