Lois Gibson (born c. 1950) is an American

forensic artist Forensic art is any art used in law enforcement or legal proceedings. Forensic art is used to assist law enforcement with the visual aspects of a case, often using witness descriptions and video footage. It is a highly specialized field that ...

who holds a 2017

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for most identifications by a forensic artist. She also drew the first forensic sketch shown on ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'', which helped identify the suspect and solve the case.

Early life

Gibson was born circa 1950. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors degree from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Career

Gibson decided to become a forensic artist after being assaulted and nearly killed when she was 21 and living in Los Angeles. She has taught at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

's Center for Public Safety since 1998. Gibson has worked as a forensic artist for the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

since 1989, and as of 2012, it was reported that her work helped solve 1,266 crimes. Gibson has created fine art oil portraits for public buildings of Houston Mayor

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted int ...

, and San Antonio Mayors

Jose Miguel de Arciniega Jose Miguel de Arciniega (1793–1849) was a Mexican military explorer and legislator. He was mayor of San Antonio, Texas, in 1830 and 1833. Biography Early years He was born in Coahuila, New Spain to Jose Gregorio Arciniega and Maria Jos ...

, and

Juan Seguin ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

. Gibson is the author of the true crime book ''Faces of Evil'' with writer Deanie Francis Mills, and wrote a textbook titled ''Forensic Art Essentials''. Gibson's work supported Glenn McDuffie's 2007 claim of being the man seen kissing the woman in

Alfred Eisenstaedt Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898 – August 23, 1995) was a German-born American photographer and photojournalist. He began his career in Germany prior to World War II but achieved prominence as a staff photographer for ''Life'' magazine af ...

's photo ''

V-J Day in Times Square ''V-J Day in Times Square'' is a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that portrays a U.S. Navy sailor embracing and kissing a total stranger—a dental assistant—on Victory over Japan Day ("V-J Day") in New York City's Times Square on August 1 ...

''. Gibson's forensic analysis compared the Eisenstaedt photographs with current-day photographs of McDuffie, analyzing key facial features and measuring the ears, facial bones, hairline, wrist, knuckles, and hand in comparison to enlargements of Eisenstaedt's picture. According to Gibson, "I could tell just in general that yes, it's him. But I wanted to be able to tell other people so I replicated the pose". In 2014, Gibson's work supported the claims of New Mexico educator Ray John DeAragon that

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...

was the subject of a photo he inherited. In 2017, Gibson's work supported the claims of

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...

descendant Sandra Mills that a tintype photograph she owned showed James sitting next to Robert Ford. Gibson appeared as herself on '' To Tell The Truth''. In 2018, Gibson worked with adult film star and director

Stormy Daniels Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress and director, and former stripper. She has won numerous industry awards, and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN ...

to create a composite sketch of a suspect that Daniels alleges threatened her in 2011 in a parking lot in Las Vegas to keep quiet about her affair with President Donald Trump.

Personal life

Gibson is married and has two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Lois Living people 1950s births University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts alumni Forensic artists Houston Police Department