Painting of Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

(1588 - 1679)

Color mosaic of earl Church father St. John Chrysostom.

St. John Chrysostom

(347 - 407)

Kurt Vonnegut

(1922 - 2007)

Flann O'Brien in an overcoat standing next to a Dublin Diversion sign

Flann O’Brien

(1911 - 1966)

Black and white photo of Lenny Bruce being frisked by an officer

Lenny Bruce

(1925 - 1966)

Daniil Kharms looking serious with an intent stare

Daniil Kharms

(1905 - 1942)

Photograph of Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

(1821 - 1867)

Image of Renaissance humanist and scholar Poggio Bracciolini.

Poggio Bracciolini

(1380 - 1459)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Abu Nuwas

(c. 755 - c. 814)

Painting of François Rabelais.

François Rabelais

(1494 - 1553)

Woody Allen in thick black rim glasses

Woody Allen

Portrait bust of presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey Homer.

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809 - 1865)

Dorothy Parker working at her typewriter.

Dorothy Parker

(1893 - 1967)

Portrait of Philip Dormer Stanhope wearing a blue sash.

Philip Dormer Stanhope

(1694 - 1773)

Henri Bergson

Henri Bergson

(1859 - 1941)

Image of French poet François Villon.

François Villon

(1431 - c. 1463)

Illustration of Plautus with red robes and hat

Plautus

(c. 254 BC - c. 184 BC)

black and white pencil drawing of Moliere in an ornate frame

Molière

(1622 - 1673)

Portrait of George Vasey in a suit with a long white beard

George Vasey

(1822 - 1893)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller

(1923 - 1999)

black and white photo of Steve Martin wearing a white dinner jacket and black tie

Steve Martin

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Frances Warfield

(1884 - 1969)

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce

(1842 - c. 1914)

Photograph of English professor and author Andrew McConnell Stott.

Andrew McConnell Stott

color photograph of Victor Frankl with his hand on his chin looking pensive

Victor Frankl

(1905 - 1997)

Pastel drawing of George Eliot.

George Eliot

(1819 - 1880)

black and white photo of Groucho Marx wearing glasses and smoking a cigar from the side of his mouth

Groucho Marx

(1890 - 1977)

Samuel Beckett, 1977. Photograph by Roger Pic.

Samuel Beckett

(1906 - 1989)

David Simon sitting outside wearing an Irish driver cap

David Simon

Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes.

Miguel de Cervantes

(1547 - 1616)

black and white photo of James Thurber lighting a cigarette in the new york times office

James Thurber

(1894 - 1961)

Don DeLillo standing outside in a jacket, black and white photo

Don DeLillo

Photograph of African-American poet and writer Langston Hughes.

Langston Hughes

(1902 - 1967)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Charlie Chaplin

(1889 - 1977)

color oil painting of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a red tunic with gray hair

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

(1756 - 1791)

Black and white photo of Harry S. Truman holding a newspaper with the headline "Dewey defeats Truman"

Harry S. Truman

(1884 - 1972)

Black and white photo of Herbert Spencer with long, hairy mutton chops and a stern expression

Herbert Spencer

(1820 - 1903)

Juvenal

(c. 60 - c. 130)

Black and white image of French classical author La Rochefoucauld.

La Rochefoucauld

(1613 - 1680)

Painting of Charles Lamb wearing a black suit against a red backdrop.

Charles Lamb

(1775 - 1834)

Oil painting portrair Michel de Montaigne in red robes and white collar

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

Portrait of Chinese fiction writer Pu Songling.

Pu Songling

(1640 - 1715)

Billy Collins

Engraving of William Shakespeare from the first folio edition.

William Shakespeare

(1564 - 1616)

Ukrainian-born Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol.

Nikolai Gogol

(1809 - 1852)

Black and white photograph of American entertainer Joan Rivers.

Joan Rivers

(1933 - 2014)

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

(1667 - 1745)

Painting of Jean de la Bruyère wearing a red cape.

Jean de La Bruyère

(1645 - 1696)

Japanese diarist and poet Sei Shōnagon.

Sei Shonagon

(c. 966 - c. 1025)

Sculpture bust of Roman teacher and writer Quintilian.

Quintilian

(35 - c. 96)

Sepia toned photograph of Lewis Carroll in a suit, reading a book

Lewis Carroll

(1832 - 1898)

Colorized engraving of Voltaire wearing a wig.

Voltaire

(1694 - 1778)

black and white photograph of Sara Silverman performing at the Upright Citizens Brigad

Sarah Silverman

Color drawing of Jane Austen sitting in a chair wearing a blue dress

Jane Austen

(1775 - 1817)

Photograph of Soviet author Mikhail Zoshchenko in military uniform.

Mikhail Zoshchenko

(1895 - 1958)

Photograph of American author Ben Tarnoff.

Ben Tarnoff

photograph of David Foster Wallace speaking at a podium

David Foster Wallace

(1962 - 2008)

Calvin Trillin standing in front of a refrigerator in a black and white photograph

Calvin Trillin

American feminist, activist, and editor Gloria Steinem.

Gloria Steinem

Black and white photograph of Mencken looking over his shoulder at the camera

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Robert Benchley

Robert Benchley

(1889 - 1945)

Black and white photograph of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud with cigar.

Sigmund Freud

(1856 - 1949)

Black and white photograph of a young Mark Twain with dark hair.

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Color photograph of comedian and writer Rob Delaney.

Rob Delaney

Sepia colored photo of Oscar Wilde sitting on a rock with a book in his hand

Oscar Wilde

(1854 - 1900)

Stanley Kubrick

(1929 - 1999)