Visionaries

Visionaries was designed and painted by professional artist Lois Cordelia.


Design summary

Portraits of historical people, past and present, who had vision impairment or sight loss – some famously, others less so. The painterly background loosely references Monet’s waterlilies.

Sensory items

We asked our artists to come up with a scent and a touch item that relates to their design to give a multi-sensory perspective to their concept. Some of these items will be incorporated into our sighted guide and sensory tours. Lois's sensory items are:

  • Touch item: A sheet of braille, relating to Louis Braille who is featured in the sculpture.
  • Scent item: Oil paints.

Portraits included in the sculpture:

  • Judith E. Heumann: American disability rights activist – the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement”. 
  • Dr Abraham Nemeth: American mathematician who developed the Nemeth Braille system for reading and writing mathematics.  
  • Wilma Pearl Mankiller: Indigenous American (Cherokee Nation) activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
  • Claude Monet: French painter and founder of the Impressionist movement. 
  • Stevie Wonder: American singer-songwriter and musician.
  • Alec Templeton: Welsh composer, pianist and satirist.
  • Ronnie Lee Milsap: American country music singer and pianist.
  • Susan Townsend: English writer and humorist.
  • Joseph Pulitzer: Hungarian American politician (Democrat) and newspaper publisher. Namesake and beneficiary for the Pulitzers Prize.
  • Leonhard Euler: Swiss mathematician and physicist.
  • William Samuel McTell: American Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.
  • Helen Keller: American author, disability rights advocate and political activist.
  • Ray Charles American singer-songwriter and pianist.
  • Jorge Luis Borges: Argentine short story writer and essayist.
  • Harriet Tubman: American abolitionist and social activist. Synonymous with the Underground Railroad.
  • Andrea Bocelli: Italian tenor.
  • Marla Runyan: American track and field athlete, Olympian and Paralympian.
  • Louis Braille: French educator and inventor of the Braille reading and writing system.
  • Rahsan Roland Kirk: American multi-instrumentalist.
  • Matilda Ann Aston: Australian writer and teacher.
  • James Thurber: American writer, humourist and cartoonist.
  • Frederick Delius: English composer.
  • Homer: Ancient Greek poet. The Iliad and the Odyssey.
  • Al Hibbler: American baritone and vocalist.
  • John Milton: English poet and intellectual.
  • Clarence Carter: American singer-songwriter and musician.
  • José Montserrate Feliciano García: Puerto Rican musician and singer.
  • Doc Watson: American guitarist and songwriter.
  • Dr Jacob Bolotin: American doctor and the world’s first totally blind physician.
  • Horatio Nelson: British flag officer in the Royal Navy.
  • Erik Weihenmayer: American athlete and adventurer.
  • Galileo Galilei: Italian astronomer and physicist.
  • Dame Judi Dench: British actor