"Nicknamed the Queen of the Blues, Bessie Smith rose up from poverty in the American South to become one of the most famous and respected recording artists of her generation. Smith was at the forefront of transitioning blues music from a rural novelty to a legitimate art form that critics and audiences took seriously. Behind the scenes of her success, though, Bessie navigated a story family and personal life. She had adult sisters who depended on...

Some of the most famous artists of the world never achieved fame, or even recognition, during their lifetimes. They worked in relative obscurity and often in tragic circumstances. And although those artists produced works that now grace the walls of some of the most hallowed museums, they never lived to enjoy it. Vincent Willem van Gogh was such a man. This biography looks at both the life and times of one of the world's most known artist, and how...