01
William Shakespeare
Playwright and poet
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The creative minds collection
Creative minds
101 minds that sparked our imagination
Stories, music, films, and performances that expanded what art could be. Meet creators whose imaginations continue to travel far beyond their own time.
02
Maya Angelou
Poet and memoirist
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Angelou_at_Clinton_inauguration_(cropped_2).jpg · Clinton Library · Public domain03
Virginia Woolf
Novelist and essayist
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George_Charles_Beresford_-_Virginia_Woolf_in_1902_-_Restoration.jpg · George Charles Beresford / Adam Cuerden · Public domain04
Ludwig van Beethoven
Composer
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Joseph_Karl_Stieler's_Beethoven_mit_dem_Manuskript_der_Missa_solemnis.jpg · Joseph Karl Stieler · Public domain05
Toni Morrison
Novelist
Image credits
Toni_Morrison.jpg · John Mathew Smith ( celebrity-photos.com ) · CC BY-SA 2.006
Hayao Miyazaki
Animation filmmaker
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HayaoMiyazakiCCJuly09.jpg · Natasha Baucas at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdnatasha/ · CC BY 2.007
Samuel Morse
Telegraph innovator
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Samuel_Morse.jpg · Mathew Benjamin Brady · Public domain08
David Bowie
Musician and performer
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David-Bowie_Chicago_2002-08-08_photoby_Adam-Bielawski-cropped.jpg · Adam Bielawski · CC BY-SA 3.009
Rabindranath Tagore
Poet and composer
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1926_Rabindrath_Tagore.jpg · Georges Chevalier · CC BY 4.010
Frida Kahlo
Painter
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Frida_Kahlo,_by_Guillermo_Kahlo.jpg · Guillermo Kahlo · Public domain11
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Composer
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The_Mozart_Family_-_Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart_headshot.jpg · Johann Nepomuk della Croce · Public domain12
Leonardo da Vinci
Renaissance artist and polymath
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Francesco_Melzi_-_Portrait_of_Leonardo.png · Attributed to Francesco Melzi · Public domain13
Akira Kurosawa
Film director
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Akirakurosawa-onthesetof7samurai-1953-page88.jpg · 映画の友 (Eiga no tomo) · Public domain14
Nina Simone
Singer and pianist
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Nina_Simone_-1969.jpg · Gerrit de Bruin · CC BY 4.015
Gabriel García Márquez
Novelist
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Gabriel_Garcia_Marquez.jpg · Jose Lara · CC BY-SA 2.016
Emily Dickinson
Poet
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Black-white_photograph_of_Emily_Dickinson2.png · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain17
Charlie Chaplin
Filmmaker and comedian
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Charlie_Chaplin_portrait_Getty_1739411952.jpg · Strauss-Peyton Studio · Public domain18
Joni Mitchell
Songwriter and painter
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Joni_Mitchell_2021_Kennedy_Center_Honors_(cropped).jpg · Library of Congress Life · CC019
Jorge Luis Borges
Writer
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Jorge_Luis_Borges_1951,_by_Grete_Stern_(full).jpg · Grete Stern · Public domain20
Mary Shelley
Novelist
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Mary_Wollstonecraft_Shelley_Rothwell.tif · Richard Rothwell · Public domain21
Igor Stravinsky
Composer
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Igor_Stravinsky_LOC_32392u.jpg · George Grantham Bain Collection · Public domain22
Zora Neale Hurston
Writer and folklorist
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Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain23
Satyajit Ray
Filmmaker
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Satyajit_Ray_in_New_York_(cropped).jpg · Dinu Alam Newyork · CC BY-SA 4.024
Duke Ellington
Composer and bandleader
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Duke_Ellington_-_publicity.JPG · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain25
Ursula K. Le Guin
Novelist
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Ursula_Le_Guin_(3551195631)_-_Restoration.jpg · Marian Wood Kolisch, Oregon State University Restored by Adam Cuerden · CC BY-SA 2.026
Salvador Dalí
Painter
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Salvador_Dalí_1939.jpg · Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964. · Public domain27
Chinua Achebe
Novelist
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Chinua_Achebe,_1966.jpg · Carlo Bavagnoli · Public domain28
Billie Holiday
Jazz singer
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Portrait_of_Billie_Holiday_and_Mister,_Downbeat,_New_York,_N.Y.,_ca._Feb._1947_(LOC,_5020400274,_cropped).jpg · William P. Gottlieb · Public domain29
Italo Calvino
Novelist
Image credits
Italo-Calvino.jpg · The original uploader was Varie11 at Italian Wikipedia . · Public domain30
Agnès Varda
Film director
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Agnès_Varda_(Berlinale_2019)_(cropped).jpg · Martin Kraft · CC BY-SA 4.031
Johann Sebastian Bach
Composer
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Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg · Elias Gottlob Haussmann · Public domain32
Octavia E. Butler
Science-fiction writer
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Butler_signing.jpg · Nikolas Coukouma · CC BY-SA 2.533
Federico Fellini
Film director
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Federico_Fellini_010.jpg · Italiamia · Public domain34
Louis Armstrong
Jazz trumpeter and singer
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Louis_Armstrong_in_Color_(restored).jpg · Harry Warnecke / Gus Schoenbaechler · Public domain35
Murasaki Shikibu
Novelist
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Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png · Tosa Mitsuoki (1617 - 1691) · Public domain36
James Baldwin
Writer
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James_Baldwin_37_Allan_Warren_(cropped).jpg · Allan warren · CC BY-SA 3.037
Pina Bausch
Choreographer
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Pina_Bausch_(festival_d'Avignon,_1981).jpg · Michaud, Fernand (1929-2012). Photographe · Public domain38
Pablo Neruda
Poet
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Pablo_Neruda_1963.jpg · Unknown ( Mondadori Publishers ) · Public domain39
Stephen Sondheim
Composer and lyricist
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Stephen_Sondheim,_New_York_(cropped)_2.jpg · Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer · Public domain40
Sylvia Plath
Poet and novelist
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Sylvia_Plath.jpg · Giovanni Giovannetti/Grazia Neri · Public domain41
Orson Welles
Filmmaker and actor
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Orson_Welles_1937_cr3-4.jpg · Carl Van Vechten · Public domain42
Miriam Makeba
Singer
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Miriam_makeba_01.jpg · Paul Weinberg · CC BY-SA 3.043
J. R. R. Tolkien
Fantasy novelist
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J._R._R._Tolkien,_ca._1925.jpg · Unknown photo studio commissioned by Tolkien's students 1925/6 (private communication from Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien Archivist, Bodleian Library) · Public domain44
Anton Chekhov
Playwright and short-story writer
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Anton_Chekhov_1889.jpg · V. Chekhovskii, Moscow · Public domain45
Martha Graham
Dancer and choreographer
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Martha_Graham_1948.jpg · Yousuf Karsh / Library and Archives Canada / PA-212251 · Public domain46
Fela Kuti
Musician and bandleader
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Fela_Kuti_circa_1986.jpg · Distributed by Celluloid Records · Public domain47
Isabel Allende
Novelist
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Isabel_Allende_Frankfurter_Buchmesse_2015_(cropped).JPG · Lesekreis · CC BY-SA 4.048
Claude Debussy
Composer
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Claude_Debussy_by_Atelier_Nadar.jpg · Adam Cuerden · Public domain49
Naguib Mahfouz
Novelist
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Naguib_Mahfouz_HR.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain50
Hildegard of Bingen
Composer and writer
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Hildegard_von_Bingen.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain51
Federico García Lorca
Poet and playwright
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Federico_García_Lorca._Huerta_de_San_Vicente,_Granada.jpg · Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain52
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Singer and guitarist
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Sister_Rosetta_Tharpe_(1938_publicity_photo_-_headshot).jpg · James J. Kriegsmann · Public domain53
Ingmar Bergman
Film director
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Ingmar_Bergman_(1966).jpg · Joost Evers / Anefo · CC BY-SA 3.054
Margaret Atwood
Novelist and poet
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Margaret_Atwood_(3x4_cropped).jpg · Collision Conf · CC BY 2.055
Omar Khayyam
Poet and mathematician
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Hakim_Omar_Khayam_-_panoramio.jpg · Alireza Javaheri · CC BY 3.056
Prince
Musician and songwriter
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Prince_promo_picture_(1988;_cropped_and_retouched).png · Unknown author Unknown author , based on File:Prince promo picture (1988; cropped).png · Public domain57
Sappho
Ancient Greek poet
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Malarz_Safony_-_Kalpis_wykonana_techniką_Six.jpg · Sappho Painter · Public domain58
Oscar Wilde
Playwright and writer
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Oscar_Wilde_by_Napoleon_Sarony._Three-quarter-length_photograph,_seated_(cropped).jpg · Napoleon Sarony / Adam Cuerden · Public domain59
Anna Akhmatova
Poet
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Анна_Ахматова.png · Pavel Nikolaevič Luknickij · Public domain60
Leonard Bernstein
Composer and conductor
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Leonard_Bernstein_by_Jack_Mitchell_(high_quality).jpg · Jack Mitchell · CC BY-SA 4.061
Alice Walker
Novelist and poet
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Alice_Walker.jpg · Virginia DeBolt · CC BY-SA 2.062
Abbas Kiarostami
Film director
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Kiarostami_Boroujerdi_(3)(Cropped).jpg · مهرزاد بروجردی · CC BY 4.063
Édith Piaf
Singer
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Piaf_Harcourt_1946_2.jpg · Studio Harcourt · Public domain64
Miguel de Cervantes
Novelist
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Cervantes_Jáuregui.jpg · Attributed to Juan de Jáuregui · Public domain65
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Novelist
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Chimamanda_Ngozi_Adichie_(2015).png · librairie mollat · CC BY 3.066
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Composer and pianist
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Sergei_Rachmaninoff_cph.3a40575.jpg · Kubey-Rembrandt Studios (Philadephia, Pennsylvania) · Public domain67
Yoko Ono
Artist and musician
Image credits
MEX_MM_CONFERENCIA_YOKO_ONO_(cropped).jpg · Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México · CC BY-SA 2.068
Jane Austen
Novelist
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CassandraAusten-JaneAusten(c.1810)_hires.jpg · Cassandra Austen · Public domain69
Walt Disney
Animation producer
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Walt_Disney_1946_(cropped2).JPG · Boy Scouts of America · Public domain70
Wisława Szymborska
Poet
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Wisława_Szymborska_2009.10.23_(1).jpg · Mariusz Kubik · CC BY 3.071
Bob Dylan
Songwriter
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DylanYoungKilkenny140719v2_(50_of_52)_(52246124397)_(cropped).jpg · Raph_PH · CC BY 2.072
Rumi
Persian poet
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مولانا_اثر_حسین_بهزاد_(cropped).jpg · Hossein Behzad · Public domain73
Louise Glück
Poet
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Louise_Glück_circa_1977.jpg · Gerard Malanga · Public domain74
Jim Henson
Puppeteer and filmmaker
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Jim_Henson,_creator,_The_Muppets.jpg · Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer · Public domain75
Ella Fitzgerald
Jazz singer
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Ella_Fitzgerald_6_(cropped).jpg · Carl Van Vechten · Public domain76
Antonín Dvořák
Composer
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Dvorak.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain77
Haruki Murakami
Novelist
Image credits
Conversatorio_Haruki_Murakami_(12_de_12)_(45747009452)_(cropped).jpg · Ministerio Cultura y Patrimonio from Quito, Ecuador · Public domain78
Lotte Reiniger
Animation pioneer
Image credits
Lotte_Reiniger_1939.jpg · NA · Public domain79
Dante Alighieri
Poet
Image credits
Bargello_-_Kapelle_Fresko_2a.jpg · Wolfgang Sauber · CC BY-SA 3.080
Ntozake Shange
Playwright and poet
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Ntozake_Shange,_Reid_Lecture,_Women_Issues_Luncheon,_Women's_Center,_November_1978_Crisco_edit.jpg · Barnard College; digitally restored by Chris Woodrich · CC BY-SA 3.081
George Gershwin
Composer
Image credits
Portrait_of_George_Gershwin_LCCN2004662906.jpg · Carl Van Vechten · Public domain82
Clarice Lispector
Novelist
Image credits
Clarice_Lispector_(cropped).jpg · Bisilliat, Maureen · CC BY-SA 4.083
Stanley Kubrick
Film director
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Stanley_Kubrick_in_Dr._Strangelove_Trailer_(4)_Cropped.jpg · Columbia Pictures (Q186941) · Public domain84
Björk
Musician
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Bjork_Orkestral_Paris_(cropped).png · Frédéric Vicomte · CC BY-SA 4.085
Michelangelo
Italian sculptor and painter
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Michelangelo_Daniele_da_Volterra_(dettaglio).jpg · Attributed to Daniele da Volterra · Public domain86
Gabriela Mistral
Poet
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Gabriela_Mistral_1945.jpg · Anna Riwkin-Brick · Public domain87
Wole Soyinka
Playwright and poet
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Wole_Soyinka_in_2018_(3x4_cropped).jpg · Frankie Fouganthin · CC BY-SA 4.088
Ennio Morricone
Film composer
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Ennio_Morricone_Cannes_2007.jpg · Olivier Strecker · CC BY-SA 3.089
Tove Jansson
Writer and illustrator
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Tove_Jansson_with_flower_crown_001.tiff · Per Olov Jansson · CC BY 3.090
Georges Méliès
Film illusionist
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Méliès_portrait_(cropped).png · Georges Méliès · Public domain91
Lili Boulanger
Composer
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Lili_Boulanger_par_Henri_Manuel.jpg · Henri Manuel · Public domain92
Kahlil Gibran
Poet and artist
Image credits
Kahlil_Gibran_1913.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain93
Beatrix Potter
Writer and illustrator
Image credits
Beatrix_Potter_by_King_cropped.jpg · Charles G.Y. King (1854-1937) · Public domain94
Alfred Hitchcock
Film director
Image credits
Hitchcock,_Alfred_02.jpg · Ante Brkan · Public domain95
Mahalia Jackson
Gospel singer
Image credits
Mahalia_Jackson_Com_L10-0125-0004.tif · Comet Photo AG (Zürich) · CC BY-SA 4.096
Fernando Pessoa
Poet
Image credits
Pessoa_chapeu.jpg · Template:Cavalão · Public domain97
Martha Argerich
Pianist
Image credits
Martha_argerich_photo_(cropped).jpg · Presidencia de la Nación Argentina · CC BY-SA 2.098
Walt Whitman
Poet
Image credits
Walt_Whitman_-_George_Collins_Cox.jpg · George Collins Cox / Adam Cuerden · Public domain99
Safi Faye
Filmmaker
Image credits
Safi_Faye,_2004_(cropped).jpg · Olivier Barlet · CC BY-SA 4.0100
Leonard Cohen
Songwriter and poet
Image credits
Leonard_Cohen,_1988_01.jpg · Gorupdebesanez · CC BY-SA 3.0101
Ousmane Sembène
Filmmaker and novelist
