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Ai Weiwei

(Encyclopedia)Ai Weiwei īˈ wāwā [key], 1957–, Chinese artist, architect, filmmaker, and political activist. He is the son of poet Ai Ch'ing, who was internally exiled (1958–76) to work camps with his family...

Pierce, Franklin

(Encyclopedia)Pierce, Franklin, 1804–69, 14th President of the United States (1853–57), b. Hillsboro, N.H., grad. Bowdoin College, 1824. Admitted to the bar in 1827, he entered politics as a Jacksonian Democrat...

Newfoundland and Labrador, province, Canada

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Newfoundland and Labrador nyo͞oˈfənlənd, nyo͞ofənlăndˈ; lăbˈrədôrˌ [key], province (2001 pop. 512,930), 156,185 sq mi (404,519 sq km), E Canada. The province consists of the island...

Louis period styles

(Encyclopedia)Louis period styles, 1610–1793, succession of modes of interior decoration and architecture that established France as a leading influence in the decorative arts. The restraint of the later Louis ...

classicism

(Encyclopedia)classicism, a term that, when applied generally, means clearness, elegance, symmetry, and repose produced by attention to traditional forms. It is sometimes synonymous with excellence or artistic qual...

Schism, Great

(Encyclopedia)Schism, Great, or Schism of the West, division in the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. There was no question of faith or practice involved; the schism was a matter of persons and politics. Sho...

New York Philharmonic

(Encyclopedia)New York Philharmonic, dating from 1842, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. The orchestra as it now exists is the result of the merger of the Philharmonic Society of New York with the...

Saint Louis

(Encyclopedia)Saint Louis lo͞oˈĭs [key], city (1990 pop. 396,685), independent and in no county, E Mo., on the Mississippi River below the mouth of the Missouri; inc. as a city 1822. St. Louis has long been a ma...

Melville, Herman

(Encyclopedia)Melville, Herman, 1819–91, American author, b. New York City, considered one of the great American writers and a major figure in world literature. Like Moby-Dick, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (18...

Louvre

(Encyclopedia)Louvre lo͞oˈvrə [key], foremost French museum of art, located in Paris. The building was a royal fortress and palace built by Philip II in the late 12th cent. In 1546 Pierre Lescot was commissioned...