Defying social and family expectations, the wealthy, often eccentric Alice Pike Barney (1857–1931) zestfully committed herself to the arts and became known for her lively art salons, bohemian lifestyle, and unusual family.

Tina Barney was born to a wealthy New York family in 1945. She began collecting photographs in 1971, which sparked her interest in doing her own work. In 1976 she and her husband moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, where she took photography classes at the local art center.

Born in Germany, Hannelore Baron immigrated to the United States in 1941 and settled in New York City. As Jews in Nazi Germany, the family suffered persecution and the destruction of their home before finally being able to come to America.

Born Philadelphia, 1855. Before 1872, studied drawing with Dutch artist Adolf van der Whelen. 1875, fossil drawings on commission from U.S. Geological Survey. 1877–79, studied Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. First exhibited 1879. 1888, studied at Académie Julian, Paris.

One of the youngest members of the American Abstract Artists, Rosalind Bengelsdorf championed abstraction in her writings and lectures as well as in her paintings.