Portrait of Chinese Daoist Zhuangzi.

Zhuangzi

(c. 369 BC - 286 BC)

Photograph of American biologist Edward O. Wilson.

Edward O. Wilson

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Portrait of Chinese fiction writer Pu Songling.

Pu Songling

(1640 - 1715)

Black and white photograph of American novelist John Steinbeck.

John Steinbeck

(1902 - 1968)

Sculpture bust of legendary Greek fabulist Aesop.

Aesop

(c. 620 BC - c. 564 BC)

Image of Chinese Song Dynasty poet Mei Yaochen.

Mei Yaochen

(1002 - 1060)

Photograph of American literary critic George Steiner.

George Steiner

(1929 - 2020)

Burkhard Bilger

Photograph of American environmentalist Aldo Leopold.

Aldo Leopold

(1887 - 1948)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Painting of Benjamin Franklin reading a batch of papers next to a classical bust.

Benjamin Franklin

(1706 - 1790)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Aelian

(c. 170 - c. 235)

Photograph of Italian writer Italo Calvino.

Italo Calvino

(1923 - 1985)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Photograph of British humanist, naturalist, and critic Alfred Russel Wallace.

Alfred Russel Wallace

(1823 - 1913)

Photograph of pilot, horse trainer, writer, and adventurer Beryl Markham on horseback.

Beryl Markham

(1902 - 1986)

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

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

Black and white photograph of French novelist, essayist, and playwright Albert Camus.

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Photograph of East German writer Inge Müller.

Inge Müller

(1925 - 1966)

Photograph of British novelist and editor J.R. Ackerley with dog.

J.R. Ackerley

(1896 - 1967)

Photograph of English poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling.

Rudyard Kipling

(1865 - 1936)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Hanno

(c. 520 BC - c. 470 BC)

Photograph of Polish writer, artist, teacher, and critic Bruno Schulz.

Bruno Schulz

(1892 - 1942)

Photograph of Native American author N. Scott Momaday.

N. Scott Momaday

Black and white photograph of Irish poet and writer W. B. Yeats.

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Photograph of British naturalist and conservationist Gerald Durrell.

Gerald Durrell

(1925 - 1995)

Photograph of Soviet playwright and writer Mikhail Bulgakov.

Mikhail Bulgakov

(1891 - 1940)

Black and white image of Japanese haiku poet Kobayashi Issa.

Kobayashi Issa

(1763 - 1828)

Photograph of American forger George Bidwell.

George Bidwell

(c. 1837 - 1899)

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

Norman Maclean

(1902 - 1990)

Photograph of American biologist Lynn Margulis.

Lynn Margulis

(1938 - 2011)

Photograph of American animation director Chuck Jones.

Chuck Jones

(1912 - 2002)

Portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky

(1821 - 1881)

Photograph of English novelist and satirist T. H. White.

T.H. White

(1906 - 1964)

Painting of ornithologist and artist John James Audubon.

John James Audubon

(1785 - 1851)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Portrait bust of Roman poet Virgil.

Virgil

(70 BC - 19 BC)

Photograph of American writer and editor John Jeremiah Sullivan.

John Jeremiah Sullivan

Painted portrait of French poet Jean de la Fontaine.

Jean de La Fontaine

(1621 - 1695)

Image of Chinese poet Bai Juyi.

Bai Juyi

(772 - 846)

Photograph of English art critic, novelist, and painter John Berger.

John Berger

(1926 - 2017)

Photograph of American author Laura Hillenbrand.

Laura Hillenbrand

Photograph of British journalist and historian Frances Stonor Saunders.

Frances Stonor Saunders

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Image of Platonic philosopher, rhetorician, and author Lucius Apuleius.

Lucius Apuleius

(c. 124 - c. 171)

Painted portrait of German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

Alexander von Humboldt

(1769 - 1859)

Painting of Persian Muslim poet Farid ud-Din Attar.

Farid ud-Din Attar

(c. 1142 - c. 1220)

Longus

(c. 180 - c. 230)

Painted portrait of French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, count de Buffon.

Georges-Louis Leclerc, count de Buffon

(1707 - 1788)

Black and white photograph of German-language writer Franz Kafka.

Franz Kafka

(1883 - 1924)

Photograph of Danish writer Isak Dinesen.

Isak Dinesen

(1885 - 1962)

Photograph of Native American poet and novelist Leslie Marmon Silko.

Leslie Marmon Silko

Photograph of American poet Mary Oliver.

Mary Oliver

(1935 - 2019)

Photograph of Lithuanian-born French philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas.

Emmanuel Lévinas

(1905 - 1995)

Photograph of Native American author and educator Luther Standing Bear.

Luther Standing Bear

(1868 - 1939)

Photograph of American writer and naturalist Henry Beston.

Henry Beston

(1888 - 1968)

Photograph of American novelist Willa Cather.

Willa Cather

(1873 - 1947)

Painted portrait of English philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

Jeremy Bentham

(1748 - 1832)

Photograph of British politician and journalist Henry Du Pré Labouchère.

Henry Du Pré Labouchère

(1831 - 1912)

Elizabeth Bishop

(1911 - 1979)

Usama Ibn Munqidh

(1095 - 1188)

Photograph of American author and editor Jack Hitt.

Jack Hitt

Ovid

(43 BC - c. 17)

English novelist, essayist, and critic George Orwell.

George Orwell

(1903 - 1950)

Photograph of British novelist Patrick O'Brian.

Patrick O’Brian

(1914 - 2000)

Image of English naturalist Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwin

(1809 - 1882)

Photograph of American novelist Mary Austin.

Mary Austin

(1868 - 1934)

Photograph of Japanese novelist Natsume Sōseki.

Natsume Sōseki

(1867 - 1916)

Black and white image of Greek biographer and writer Plutarch.

Plutarch

(46 - c. 120)

Image from Codex Manesse depicting a tournament of knights.

Chrétien de Troyes

(c. 1165 - c. 1180)

Georg Ludwig Collins

(1763 - 1814)