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Bontecou, Lee

(Encyclopedia)Bontecou, Lee bŏnˈtəko͞o [key], 1931–, American artist, b. Providence, R.I. Bontecou is best known for the abstract sculptures she created from 1959–1967, three-dimensional wall reliefs made o...

New Castle

(Encyclopedia)New Castle. 1 City (1990 pop. 4,837), New Castle co., N Del., on the Delaware River. Mineral, metal, food, paper, and gypsum products are among its varied manufactures. It is also a major book distrib...

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Gaudens, Augustus sānt-gôdˈənz [key], 1848–1907, American sculptor, b. Dublin, Ireland. His family immigrated to New York when he was an infant. An apprentice in cameo cutting at 13, he ga...

reed instrument

(Encyclopedia)reed instrument, in music, an instrument whose sound-producing agent is a thin strip of cane, wood, plastic, or metal that vibrates as air is passed over it. The predecessor of these instruments is th...

Reich, Steve

(Encyclopedia)Reich, Steve (Stephen Michael Reich), 1936–, American composer, b. New York City. A well-known exponent of minimalism, he attended Cornell (B.A., 1957), Juilliard (1958–61), and Mills College (M.A...

Vicksburg

(Encyclopedia)Vicksburg, city (1990 pop. 20,908), seat of Warren co., W Miss., on bluffs above the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Yazoo; inc. 1825. An important port, it is the commercial, processing, and sh...

Virginia Beach

(Encyclopedia)Virginia Beach, resort city (1990 pop. 393,069), independent and in no county, SE Va., on the Atlantic coast; inc. 1906. In 1963, Princess Anne co. and the former small town of Virginia Beach were mer...

chorionic villus sampling

(Encyclopedia)chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or chorionic villus biopsy (CVB) kōrˌē-ŏnˈĭk, kôrˌ– [key], diagnostic procedure in which a sample of chorionic villi from the developing placenta is removed f...

Tura, Cosmé

(Encyclopedia)Tura, Cosmé or Cosimo kōzmāˈ to͞oˈrä, kôˈzēmō [key], c.1430–1495, Italian Renaissance artist. He was a leading master of the school of Ferrara and court painter to the city's ruling Este ...

Vancouver, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Vancouver, city (1990 pop. 46,380), seat of Clark co., SW Wash., on the Columbia River opposite Portland, Oreg., with which it is connected by bridges; inc. 1857. A rapidly growing suburb of Portland ...