Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

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

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

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

Jeffrey Gettleman

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

Anthony Kennedy

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

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

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

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

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

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

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

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

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

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

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

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

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

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

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

Black and white photograph of American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

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

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

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

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)