A drawing book I began in 1975, black bound with graph-lined paper and stamped page numbers. The women have fascinated and inspired me, as artists, muses, thinkers, influencers, and sometimes simply by the photographic evidence of their anonymous faces. I have left the book untouched for many years at a stretch, but come back to it periodically, like food. I brought it along and showed it to Henry Miller when Robert Snyder introduced us and took the three of us out to a three-hour dinner in 1976 at Henry’s favorite Italian restaurant in Santa Monica.

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Malgorzata Fornalska (1975) Polish Resistance member executed by the Gestapo, 1944.

Chinese girls (1975) From a Chinese magazine cover.

Cosima Wagner (1975) Wife of Hans von Bülow, then of Richard Wagner (1837-1930)

Lillian Gish (1975) Silent film actress, "First Lady of American Cinema" (1893-1993).

Parisian Cabaret Owner (1976).

Klondike Prostitute (1976).

Ellis Island Immigrant (1976).

Lou Lou Andreas-Salomé (1976) Writer, psychoanalyst; 'muse' of Nietzsche, Rilke, Freud (1861-1937).

Doris Lessing (1976) South African novelist, Nobel Laureate (1919-2013).

Jaqueline Roque (1976) wife of Picasso (1927-1986).

Maria Callas (1976) The most famous opera diva (1923-1977).

Laura Diaz (1976) Market vendor in Honduras.

George Sand (1976) pen name of French writer Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin, known for her liaisons with Frédéric Chopin and the writer Alfred de Musset.