Portrait bust of Roman poet Virgil.

Virgil

(70 BC - 19 BC)

Photograph of British naturalist and conservationist Gerald Durrell.

Gerald Durrell

(1925 - 1995)

Photograph of American writer Denis Johnson.

Denis Johnson

(1949 - 2017)

Photograph of Japanese novelist Natsume Sōseki.

Natsume Sōseki

(1867 - 1916)

Black and white photograph of American novelist John Steinbeck.

John Steinbeck

(1902 - 1968)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

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

Lucius Apuleius

(c. 124 - c. 171)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Norman Maclean

(1902 - 1990)

Burkhard Bilger

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Photograph of American writer and editor John Jeremiah Sullivan.

John Jeremiah Sullivan

William Langland

(c. 1325 - c. 1390)

Photograph of Danish writer Isak Dinesen.

Isak Dinesen

(1885 - 1962)

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

Georges-Louis Leclerc, count de Buffon

(1707 - 1788)

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Portrait of Chinese Daoist Zhuangzi.

Zhuangzi

(c. 369 BC - 286 BC)

Photograph of Native American author N. Scott Momaday.

N. Scott Momaday

Photograph of Native American poet and novelist Leslie Marmon Silko.

Leslie Marmon Silko

Photograph of British journalist and historian Frances Stonor Saunders.

Frances Stonor Saunders

Sculpture bust of legendary Greek fabulist Aesop.

Aesop

(c. 620 BC - c. 564 BC)

Photograph of American author Laura Hillenbrand.

Laura Hillenbrand

Painted portrait of German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

Alexander von Humboldt

(1769 - 1859)

Photograph of Native American author and educator Luther Standing Bear.

Luther Standing Bear

(1868 - 1939)

Black and white image of Greek biographer and writer Plutarch.

Plutarch

(46 - c. 120)

Georg Ludwig Collins

(1763 - 1814)

Black and white image of American writer Herman Melville.

Herman Melville

(1819 - 1891)

Longus

(c. 180 - c. 230)

Photograph of American literary critic George Steiner.

George Steiner

(1929 - 2020)

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

Michel de Montaigne

(1533 - 1592)

Image from Codex Manesse depicting a tournament of knights.

Chrétien de Troyes

(c. 1165 - c. 1180)

Photograph of American poet Mary Oliver.

Mary Oliver

(1935 - 2019)

Photograph of Italian writer Italo Calvino.

Italo Calvino

(1923 - 1985)

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

Bruno Schulz

(1892 - 1942)

Photograph of American novelist Willa Cather.

Willa Cather

(1873 - 1947)

Photograph of American animation director Chuck Jones.

Chuck Jones

(1912 - 2002)

Hanno

(c. 520 BC - c. 470 BC)

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Photograph of British politician and journalist Henry Du Pré Labouchère.

Henry Du Pré Labouchère

(1831 - 1912)

Image of Chinese poet Bai Juyi.

Bai Juyi

(772 - 846)

English novelist, essayist, and critic George Orwell.

George Orwell

(1903 - 1950)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

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

Alfred Russel Wallace

(1823 - 1913)

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

W.B. Yeats

(1865 - 1939)

Ovid

(43 BC - c. 17)

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

Benjamin Franklin

(1706 - 1790)

Photograph of Soviet playwright and writer Mikhail Bulgakov.

Mikhail Bulgakov

(1891 - 1940)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

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

Franz Kafka

(1883 - 1924)

Painting of Persian Muslim poet Farid ud-Din Attar.

Farid ud-Din Attar

(c. 1142 - c. 1220)

Photograph of British novelist Patrick O'Brian.

Patrick O’Brian

(1914 - 2000)

Usama Ibn Munqidh

(1095 - 1188)

Black and white image of Japanese haiku poet Kobayashi Issa.

Kobayashi Issa

(1763 - 1828)

Photograph of American environmentalist Aldo Leopold.

Aldo Leopold

(1887 - 1948)

Photograph of English poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling.

Rudyard Kipling

(1865 - 1936)

Painted portrait of French poet Jean de la Fontaine.

Jean de La Fontaine

(1621 - 1695)

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

J.R. Ackerley

(1896 - 1967)

Photograph of American novelist Mary Austin.

Mary Austin

(1868 - 1934)

Elizabeth Bishop

(1911 - 1979)

Photograph of East German writer Inge Müller.

Inge Müller

(1925 - 1966)

Portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky

(1821 - 1881)

Aelian

(c. 170 - c. 235)

Image of Chinese Song Dynasty poet Mei Yaochen.

Mei Yaochen

(1002 - 1060)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Image of English naturalist Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwin

(1809 - 1882)

Photograph of American biologist Edward O. Wilson.

Edward O. Wilson

Painting of ornithologist and artist John James Audubon.

John James Audubon

(1785 - 1851)

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

Beryl Markham

(1902 - 1986)

Black and white photograph of Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Photograph of American author and editor Jack Hitt.

Jack Hitt

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

T.H. White

(1906 - 1964)

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

John Berger

(1926 - 2017)

Photograph of American biologist Lynn Margulis.

Lynn Margulis

(1938 - 2011)

Photograph of American writer and naturalist Henry Beston.

Henry Beston

(1888 - 1968)

Photograph of American forger George Bidwell.

George Bidwell

(c. 1837 - 1899)

Photograph of Lithuanian-born French philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas.

Emmanuel Lévinas

(1905 - 1995)

Portrait of Chinese fiction writer Pu Songling.

Pu Songling

(1640 - 1715)

Painted portrait of English philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

Jeremy Bentham

(1748 - 1832)