CategoryOn the Cover

Alma Woodsey Thomas, born in 1891 in Columbus, Georgia, moved at 16 to Washington, D.C., where she found what she’d been denied in segregationist Georgia—the opportunity to freely pursue her education. In high school, Thomas took her first art class and fell deeply in love with painting. Excelling across the disciplines of math, science and

The Golden Gate Bridge, celebrated for its innovative design and strength, is a suspension bridge over the Golden Gate Strait, the stretch of water where the San Francisco Bay meets the Pacific Ocean. Each year, multitudes venture across the bridge, which opened in May 1937, admiring the steel cables that hold it together. On his

The colorful, grand mural of meticulous art encapsulates the vibrant city and culture of Los Angeles, all created using spray paint alone. Tristan Eaton (1978) was born in Hollywood, California, and began his career as an illustrator when he moved to Detroit for his father’s work. He moved to New York at the age of

Born in New York City on Feb. 3, 1894, Norman Rockwell dropped out of high school at 16 to pursue art full time at the prestigious New School of Art, then at the Art Students League of New York. Upon graduation, Rockwell found immediate work as an illustrator for Boys’ Life magazine.  At the young

With each breath, molten glass expands with vibrant colors dancing to life. Dale Patrick Chihuly experimented with a new glassblowing style by creating asymmetrical forms, influenced by gravity, resulting in large-scale, expansive works of art. Chihuly, born Sept. 20, 1941, in Tacoma, Washington, first melted glass in an oven and blew a bubble from it

In every leaf, shadow and breeze, Charles Burchfield heard the silent music of nature waiting to be seen. Charles Ephraim Burchfield (1893–1967) was an American painter whose visionary watercolors gave voice to the hidden rhythms and spirit of the natural world. Born in Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio, Burchfield began in high school jotting poetic descriptions on

A car trunk. A Florida highway. A vibrant and colorful canvas of glowing sunsets and swaying palms. In the 1950s, when art galleries refused to sell paintings by Black artists, the self-taught painters—the Florida Highwaymen—forged their own path by painting swiftly, traveling highways and selling luminous scenes of Florida’s beauty straight from the trunks of

Roughly a decade ago, James Turrell transformed the the Guggenheim Museum’s famed rotunda—originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright—into an immersive light environment titled Aten Reign. Suspended beneath the skylight, six translucent, elliptical rings created a layered structure that bathed the space in slowly shifting hues, draping visitors in a meditative glow of color and light.

American artist Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021) found artistic inspiration in life’s simplest pleasures. With thick brushwork and vibrant hues, he elevated everyday items—pies, lipsticks, hot dogs and paint cans—into joyful tributes to the ordinary. Thiebaud’s journey as an artist began with hands-on experience, including summer stints at Walt Disney Studios and Frank Wiggins Trade School in

Margot McMahon, a nationally recognized sculptor and environmental artist, has spent decades creating works that celebrate the quiet dignity of everyday people and the natural world they inhabit. It was fitting then that she would be commissioned to create a statue personifying the moment when Ikeda Sensei, on his first trip to the U.S. in

A New York City MetroCard. A Volkswagen Beetle. A Boeing 757. These everyday canvases have all showcased James Rizzi’s unmistakable, three-dimensional pop art style. Born and raised in Brooklyn (1950–2011), Rizzi developed his signature layered-print technique while studying at the University of Florida. Pressed for time during painting, printmaking and sculpture classes, he cleverly printed

In the late 1800s, it was uncommon to spot a woman hiking through the rugged Colorado highlands with an easel strapped to her back. Yet this was often how people spotted Helen Henderson Chain—affectionately nicknamed “Trot”—an artist, mountaineer and teacher whose adventurous spirit illuminated her art. Chain painted with striking clarity and depth. One of

Born in San Antonio, Texas, to painter Robert Jenkins Onderdonk, Julian Onderdonk studied first under his father, then in the military academy and finally, in New York, under the master American painter William Merritt Chase. He left for New York in 1901 at the age of 19, returning to Texas after eight years, at age

Maurice Braun (1877–1941) stands out as a prominent figure in the early development of California Impressionism. Known for his vivid landscapes, Braun was deeply inspired by the natural world and often explored the connection between nature and spirituality in his work. Raised in New York City, Braun spent his youth captivated by art, frequently visiting

While William H. Johnson (1901–70) is considered a major American artist, his works, characterized by their stunning folk-art simplicity, only recently received their due. Johnson was born in rural South Carolina to a working-class African American family. By age 17, he moved to New York to find work, with the aim of saving up money

Sam Francis, the American painter and printmaker, is celebrated for his vibrant use of color and expansive, luminous canvases. Widely regarded as one of the leading interpreters of color and light in modern art, Francis left an indelible mark on Abstract Expressionism. Born Samuel Lewis Francis on June 25, 1923, in San Mateo, California, he

Giving advice and hope to the younger generation.

Throughout 2025, the World Tribune is featuring on the cover historical acts of diplomacy that shifted public sentiment and even thawed tensions between nations. In this issue, we focus on the power of individuals coming together to create a safer and more peaceful world. On March 1, 1954, a hydrogen bomb test conducted on Bikini

The following message by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada was translated from the May 2025 issue of the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal, Daibyakurenge. One of the most defining hallmarks of Ikeda Sensei’s greatness is that, even as he served as a mentor to countless others, he continued to live his life wholeheartedly as a

How one man’s vision to bring the world together through music spurred a musical language that inspires hope.