Frederick Daniel Hardy (1826-1911) | Genre painter

Frederick Daniel Hardy was an British genre painter🎨 and member of the Cranbrook Colony of artists.

Frederick Daniel Hardy was born at Windsor in Berkshire, the third of eight children of George Hardy (1795-1877) and his wife Sarah (1803-1872).

George Hardy was a horn player in the Private Band of Music of the Royal Households of George IV, Queen Adelaide and Queen Victoria.

Evgeniy Monahov, 1974 | Figurative painter

Russian painter Евгений Монахов was born in Moscow.

Graduated from the Moscow Art College and the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow (faculty of easel painting, studio under the guidance of professors M. Abakumov and V. Sidorov).

Since 2002 a member of the International Federation of Artists and National Artist's Union of Russia.

Weizhen Liang, 1955 | Impressionist painter

Chinese painter🎨 Weizhen Liang is a master member of American Impressionist Society and an artist member of the California Art Club.

Weizhen Liang, was born and raised in China. Her early interest in the arts focused on the written word and she received her BA degree in Chinese literature from Ji Nan University of Guang Zhou in China. Weizhen's aunt, An-Zhi Zhonng, was a well respected painter and professor at the Guang Zhou Academy of Fine Arts and she studied with her from an early age.

Leonid Tishkov, 1953 | Private Moon

Russian artist Leonid Tishkov was born into a school teacher's family in the Ural Mountains region of Russia and now lives and works in Moscow.

He has participated in numerous important group exhibitions including Berlin-Moscow 1950-2000, Berlin, Martin Gropius Bau 2002, Eye on Europe, 1960 to Now - MoMA - Museum of Modern Art, NY 2006, Fabric of the Myth, Compton Verney Gallery, UK 2007, Singapore Biennale 2008 and Moscow Biennale 2009.

Saint Cecilia: Patroness of Musicians

In the fourth century a Greek religious romance on the Loves of Cecilia and Valerian was written in glorification of virginal life with the purpose of taking the place of then-popular sensual romances.

Consequently, until better evidence is produced, we must conclude that St. Cecilia was not known or venerated in Rome until about the time when Pope Gelasius (496) introduced her name into his Sacramentary.

It is said that there was a church dedicated to St. Cecilia in Rome in the fifth century, in which Pope Symmachus held a council in 500.

The story of St. Cecilia is not without beauty or merit. She is said to have been quite close to God and prayed often:

"In the city of Rome there was a virgin named Cecilia, who came from an extremely rich family and was given in marriage to a youth named Valerian. She wore sackcloth next to her skin, fasted, and invoked the saints, angels, and virgins, beseeching them to guard her virginity".

Orazio Gentileschi🎨 | Saint Cecilia with an Angel

Lermontov, Rubinstein, Vrubel e l'amore del Demone per Tamara

"As soon as night has spread her veil

To cover the Caucasian heights;

As soon as nature neath the spell

Of magic words falls silent quite;

As soon as on the cliffs the wind

Runs rustling through the fading grass,

And the small bird that hides behind

The brittle blades flies up at last;

And, drinking in the evening dew

Beneath the vine-leaves in the gloom,

Night flowering blossoms come to bloom;

As soon as the great, golden moon

Above the mountain quietly peeps

To steal a stealthy glance at you;

I shall come flying to watch your sleep

And on your silken lashes lay

Enchanted dreams of golden day...."

Augustus Edwin Mulready | Genre painter

British painter Augustus Edwin Mulready (1844-1904) was an Genre painter specializing in street scenes of London's underbelly - street urchins were a favorite subject.

Augustus Edwin Mulready was born c 1844 in London the son of Thomas and Sarah Mulready and grandson of the painter William Mulready R.A. (1786-1863).

Attracted by the artist's Colony established in Cranbrook Augustus moved there to further his profession in the late 1860s and lived next door to F.D.

Hardy at Waterloo Place in 1871. In 1874 Augustus returned to London where he married Marie who bore him two children - Claude Augustus in 1876 and Eleanor Julia in 1878.

Danny McBride, 1951

Danny McBride was born in Toronto, and has spent all of his working years in the arts as a musician, composer, singer and artist.

First as a musician, composer and songwriter, Danny made world tours with the likes of David Hasselhoff, Chris de Burgh and Joe Cocker.

His illustrious music career has netted him several gold and platinum records and a profile that still keeps him newsworthy.

In 1996 he wrapped up a US and Taiwan concert tour and began to slow his pace.