Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) heartwood, the central, woody core of a tree, no longer serving for the conduction of water and dissolved minerals; heartwood is usually denser and darker in color than the outer sapwood. Before the s...

(Encyclopedia) Sommer, William, 1867–1949, American painter and lithographer, b. Detroit. He was apprenticed as a lithographer and studied drawing with Julius Melchers in Detroit and drawing and painting in Munich...

(Encyclopedia) Stella, Joseph, 1877–1946, American painter, b. Italy, emigrated to the United States in 1896. He studied at the Art Students League of New York City with William Chase and later in Italy and Paris....

(Encyclopedia) Villon, Jacques, 1875–1963, French painter, brother of Marcel Duchamp and Raymond Duchamp-Villon. Villon became an exponent of cubism in 1911 and is best known for his refinement of the cubist style...

(Encyclopedia) Bakst, Lev Nikolayevich lyĕf nyĭkəlīˈəvyĭch bäkst [key], 1868–1924, Russian scene designer and painter. His original, imaginative style and brilliant color exerted a wide influence on costum...

(Encyclopedia) Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Jacques Henri zhäk äNrēˈ bĕrnärdăNˈ də săN–pyĕrˈ [key], 1737–1814, French naturalist and author. He was a friend of Rousseau, by whom he was strongly influen...

(Encyclopedia) ruby, precious stone, the transparent red variety of corundum, found chiefly in Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka and classified among the most valuable of gems. The Myanmarese stones are blood red, th...

(Encyclopedia) pokeweed or pokeberry, tall, bushy perennial herb (Phytolacca americana) native to North America but cultivated and naturalized in Europe. The long clusters of white flowers are followed by purplish b...

(Encyclopedia) Everdingen, Allart van älˈärt vän āˈfərdĭngən [key], 1621–75, Dutch painter and etcher. Although he worked primarily in Haarlem and Amsterdam, the scenery of Sweden and Norway forms the sub...

(Encyclopedia) cobra, name for African and Asian snakes of the family Elapidae that are equipped with inflatable neck hoods. The family also includes the African mambas, the Asian kraits, the New World coral snakes ...