Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Portrait of Alexis de Tocqueville wearing a black suit and standing in front of a chair.

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

Photograph of New York Times East Africa Bureau Chief Jeffrey Gettleman.

Jeffrey Gettleman

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Painted portrait of second President of the United States John Adams.

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Black and white photograph of African-American leader Malcolm X.

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

Photograph of U.S. Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy.

Anthony Kennedy

Photograph of American musician, songwriter, and writer Gil Scott-Heron.

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Miniature portrait of monk, musician, poet, and librarian Notker the Stammerer.

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

Photograph of American women's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Depiction of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

Portrait of Swiss-born philosopher, writer, and political theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

Black and white photograph of Friedrich Nietzsche with a huge mustache.

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

Portrait of English wit and poet John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester with monkey.

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

Black and white photograph of American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)