Portraits by Frank Weston Benson are portraits that Frank Weston Benson was commissioned to make or made of his family. He also made landscapes, wildlife, interiors and other works of art.
After his studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Académie Julian in Paris, Benson obtained commissions from judges, businessmen, and college presidents to paint portraits of themselves and their family members. In 1896 Benson began work on murals for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.: The Graces and The Four Seasons.[1]
Benson was commissioned by distinguished New England families to paint portraits of family members. His own family members were favorite subjects.
Starting with Portrait of Margaret Washburn Walker Benson began receiving commissions from judges, college presidents, and businessmen to paint portraits of themselves and family members. He also painted portraits of friends and family. This portrait of Margaret Washburn Walker required twenty-six sittings.[2]
| Title | Image | Medium | Year | Collection | Comments and SIRIS ID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeping Boy | oil on canvas | 1879 | Private collection | 24 in x 20 in (61 cm x 50.8 cm) Sleeping Boy is a primitive painting of a boy who fell asleep at the dinner table, his hands resting on his arms. SIRIS Collection Number 72920296 | ||
| Portrait of Henry Fitz Gilbert Waters | oil on canvas | 1882 | Private collection | 8 in x 10 in (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) The portrait was made of a man with a gray beard and moustache. SIRIS Collection Number 8A220034 | ||
| Portrait of Joseph Lindon Smith | oil on canvas | 1884 | Private collection | 25.5 in x 20.8 in (64.8 cm x 52.8 cm) Benson studied at the Académie Julian in Paris in 1883 and shared an apartment with fellow student, Joseph Lindon Smith. SIRIS Collection Number 89170053 | ||
| My Sister (or Portrait of Betty) | oil on canvas | 1885 | Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA | 35.5 in x 29.5 in (90.2 cm x 74.9 cm) The painting was made of Elisabeth (Lizzie Betty) Benson at age 13. SIRIS Collection Number 20110005 | ||
| Portrait of Margaret Washburn Walker | oil on canvas | 1886 | Private collection | 43 in x 36.5 in (109.2 cm x 92.7 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 8A220001 | ||
| Portrait of Charles Hamlin | oil on canvas | 1887 | 28 in x 21.5 in (71.1 cm x 54.6 cm) Hamlin was an American lawyer and the first Chairman of the Federal Reserve System (1914–1916). SIRIS Collection Number 63007554 | |||
| In Summer | oil on canvas | 1887 | Private collection | 25 in x 21 in (63.5 cm x 53.3 cm) In Summer was made of Ellen Perry Peirson, artist's wife, the year before they were married. She is seated, facing left, with a landscape in the background. SIRIS Collection Number 89170010 | ||
| Portrait in White (or Portrait of My Wife) | oil on canvas | 1889 | National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC | 48.3 in x 38.3 in (122.7 cm x 97.3 cm) Having performed a conservation analysis, the National Gallery of Art found that Benson sketched the image of his wife onto the canvas, and painted the background dark green and her dress with a thick application, or impasto of white. Her skin was painted with yellow-tan paint and then over that a cool pink. Benson's daughter Sylvia owned the painting before it was bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in 1977.[3] SIRIS Collection Number 08600941 | ||
| Girl in a Red Shawl | oil on canvas | 1890 | 32.3 in x 32.3 in (82 cm x 82 cm) The painting is a portrait of girl seated facing left with right hand clasping red shawl at her chest. SIRIS Collection Number 80041929 | |||
| Portrait of Alice Bacon | oil on canvas | 1891 | 36 in x 29 in (91.4 cm x 73.7 cm), Alice Bacon was the wife of W. Sturgis H. Lothrop. | |||
| Twilight (or Twilight in the Desert) | oil on canvas | 1891 | 39.5 in x 49.5 in (100.3 cm x 125.7 cm) Twilight features two female figures seated in an interior. The woman at right wears white dress, red shawl draped on back of sofa and the woman at center wears black dress. Glowing light shines at left near music stand/vase of white flowers. SIRIS Collection Number 89170099 | |||
| Portrait of Alexander Pope | oil on canvas | 1892 | 22.5 in x 19.3 in (57.2 cm x 49 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 89170056 | |||
| Before the Ball (or Lamplight) | oil on canvas | 1893 | 50 in x 40 in (127 cm x 101.6 cm) The painting is an interior scene with 2 women, one standing facing forward with one hand on her hip and the other resting on back of chair and the other woman is seated in background facing left with the fireplace at right. SIRIS Collection Number 71771497 | |||
| Portrait of Emily Vanderbilt Binney | oil on canvas | 1894 | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) | |||
| Decorative Head, oil on canvas | 1894 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA | 20 in x 24 in (50.8 cm x 61 cm) Decorative Head is a portrait of a woman wearing a kimono. SIRIS Collection Number 20490111 | |||
| Portrait of Margaret White Richardson | oil on canvas laid down on board | 1895 | 25 in x 30 in (63.5 cm x 76.2 cm) Margaret White Richardson, formerly Peirson, was the wife of Maurice Howe Richardson (1851–1912; m. 1879; Surgeon-in-Chief at Massachusetts General Hospital. SIRIS Collection Number 61511862 | |||
| Portrait of Harold and Katherine Walker | oil on canvas | 1895 | 25 in x 30 in (63.5 cm x 76.2 cm) The brother and sister, Harold D. Walker who was dressed in sailor suit and Katherine M. Walker was dressed in white are depicted in this painting. SIRIS Collection Number 89170068 | |||
| Young Girl | oil on canvas | 1895 | Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY | 23 in x 20 in (58.4 cm x 50.8 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 61511148 | ||
| My Little Girl | oil on canvas | 1895 | 44.5 in x 36 in (113 cm x 91.4 cm) 89170033 Benson's daughter, Eleanor, is the subject of the painting; She is seated with a cat beside her. | |||
| Portrait of a Boy (or My Little Boy) | oil on canvas | 1896 | Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA | 30 in x 26.5 in (76.2 cm x 67.3 cm) Portrait of a Boy provides evidence of Benson's study in Paris of the interplay and contrasts between light and dark. Benson's son, George, was the model for this painting. SIRIS Collection Number 55450169 | ||
| Portrait of Amy Gordon Grant | oil on canvas | 1896 | Private collection | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) | ||
| Portrait of Judge Robert Grant | oil | 1896 | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 8A220021 | |||
| Seated Lady in White | oil | 1896 | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 8A220038 | |||
| Portrait of a Child Sewing | oil on canvas | 1897 | National Academy Museum, New York City | 30.3 in x 24 in (77 cm x 61 cm) A young girl works intently on a small piece of blue cloth, with a doll on her lap in this work. SIRIS Collection Number 36270054 | ||
| Portrait of Katherine Cavanaugh | oil on canvas | 1897 | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 89170021 | |||
| Self Portrait | oil on canvas | 1898 | National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC | National Academy Museum]] New York City | 21 in x 17 in (53.3 cm x 43.2 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 36270053 | |
| Children in the Woods (or My Children in the Woods) (or In the Woods) | oil on canvas | 1898 | Private collection | 40 in x 40.5 in (101.6 cm x 102.9 cm) Benson's two oldest children, Eleanor and George, are the subjects of this painting. Eleanor is dressed in white and George sits on the ground, dressed in a sailor suit.[4] In 1889 Benson exhibited Children in the Woods at the "Ten American Painters" second exhibition; It was the first Impressionist oil painting that Benson exhibited. SIRIS Collection Number 61080016 | ||
| Young Girl In Profile | oil on canvas | 1898 | 20.3 in x 16 in (51.6 cm x 40.6 cm) A girl seated facing right wearing white dress with blue ribbon around her neck. SIRIS Collection Number 89170027 | |||
| Child in Sunlight, Maine | oil on canvas | 1899 | Private collection | 30 in x 24.1 in (76.2 cm x 61.2 cm) Sylvia, artist's daughter was painted en plein air, or in the open air, at the family's summer home near the sea. SIRIS Collection Number 62642249 | ||
| Gertrude | oil on canvas | 1899 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA | 50 in x 40 in (127 cm x 101.6 cm) Young Gertrude, wearing a white dress and seated in small white rocking chair is the subject of this work. SIRIS Collection Number 20490112 | ||
| The Sisters | oil on canvas | 1899 | Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, IL | 40 in x 39.5 in (101.6 cm x 100.3 cm) Painted at Benson's summer home, Sylvia, the toddler, has lost her bonnet and appears to have recently started walking. Her 6-year-old sister, Elisabeth, looks on. Benson skillfully captures the sunlight in the girl's clothing, the grass and sea. A breeze is suggested by Sylvia's billowing dress and the flying ribbon from the back of her dress. A successful painting for Benson, it won prestigious awards and appeared in exhibitions for two decades.[5] SIRIS Collection Number 8A730034 | ||
| Portrait of Marjorie Coldwell Westinghouse (or Portrait of Miss Westinghouse (or Young Girl in a White Dress) | oil on canvas | 1899 | 44 in x 36 in (111.8 cm x 91.4 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 89170078 | |||
| Portrait of a Woman | oil on canvas | 1899 | 26 in x 22 in (66 cm x 55.9 cm) | |||
| Portrait of Mrs. Benjamin Thaw and Her Son | oil on canvas | 1900 | 60 in x 39.5 in (152.4 cm x 100.3 cm) Mrs. Benjamin Thaw's son, Alexander Blair Thaw, III, was painted as a child with his mother. SIRIS Collection Number 89170059 | |||
| Portrait of Elizabeth | oil on canvas | c. 1901 | 30 in x 24 in (76.2 cm x 61 cm) The artist's daughter, Elizabeth, was depicted standing on sunny hillside gazing down and holding straw hat. SIRIS Collection Number 89170100 | |||
| Eleanor | oil on canvas | 1901 | Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI | 29.8 in x 25.2 in (75.7 cm x 64 cm) Benson's daughter, Eleanor, stands in a sunny landscape with right hand on hip and left hand shielding her eyes from sun. SIRIS Collection Number 47480053 | ||
| Portrait of a Lady | oil on canvas | 1901 | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY | 40.1 in x 32.4 in (101.9 cm x 82.3 cm) The seated woman wears a "Watteau style" dinner gown with low-cut neckline, snug bodice, and frilled half-length sleeves; Her outfit was accessorized with a dark hat and yellow/orange shawl. SIRIS Collection Number 36120281 | ||
| Eleanor Holding a Shell (or Eleanor Holding a Shell, North Haven, Maine) | oil on canvas | 1902 | Private collection | 30.3 in x 25 in (77 cm x 63.5 cm) Eleanor, Benson's daughter, is shown holding a large seashell against her body as she peers down at it. SIRIS Collection Number 89180003 | ||
| Child with a Seashell | oil on canvas | 1902 | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) Eleanor Benson faces left holding large seashell close to face with both hands peering into it. SIRIS Collection Number 63001795 | |||
| Portrait of Mary Sullivan | oil on canvas | 1902 | 84 in x 54 in (213.4 cm x 137.2 cm) A full-length portrait of Sullivan was made with her left hand on her hip; she wears a velvet gown with deep V-neck and stands before oriental screen. SIRIS Collection Number 89170017 | |||
| Sunlight | oil on canvas | 1902 | 44 in x 36 in (111.8 cm x 91.4 cm) Sylvia, standing in garden near her mother's knees, she wears white dress and tights and has bow in her hair; her mother, the artist's wife is cut off, only part of her body and face are seen. A cat sits on her lap, her right arm is behind Sylvia's back. SIRIS Collection Number 89170062 | |||
| Portrait of Two Little Girls (or Two Sisters) | oil on canvas | 1903 | Private collection | 40 in x 32 in (101.6 cm x 81.3 cm) The painting is made of Benson's nieces, Rosamund and Ruth Benson, who are daughters of Benson's brother Harry.[6] SIRIS Collection Number 89170065 | ||
| The Hilltop | oil on canvas | 1903 | Malden Public Library, Malden, MA | 71 in x 51 in (180.3 cm x 129.5 cm) Benson's children, Eleanor and George are painted with their dog on a hill. SIRIS Collection Number 21850010 | ||
| Four Children at North Haven | oil on canvas | c. 1903 | 25 in x 30 in (63.5 cm x 76.2 cm) The coastal woodland scene depicts three girls and a boy playing on sun-dappled grass beneath evergreen trees. Two girls are in conversation on left; a boy and toy sailboat on right. A girl standing between others with right hand resting on tree branch. Sailboats are visible in background on ocean. SIRIS Collection Number 61070673 | |||
| Study – Boy's Head | Online image[7] | oil on canvas | 1903 | 60.3 in x 23.8 in (153.2 cm x 60.5 cm) The artist's son, George, in profile sitting in grasses looks out to sea. | ||
| Portrait of Jane Shattuck | oil on canvas | 1904 | Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA | 39.5 in x 31 in (100.3 cm x 78.7 cm) The subject Jane Shattuck, was later Mrs. Chase. SIRIS Collection Number 22620383 | ||
| Lady Trying on a Hat (or The Black Hat) | oil on canvas | 1904 | Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI | 40.3 in x 32 in (102.4 cm x 81.3 cm) A seated woman holding a black hat slightly above her head. SIRIS Collection Number 47480077 | ||
| Portrait of a Model-Mary Sullivan | oil pastel on paper | 1904 | Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC | 26 in x 20.3 in (66 cm x 51.6 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 18830501 | ||
| Mary Sullivan (or Woman Looking in a Mirror) | oil on canvas | 1904 | 25 in x 20 in (63.5 cm x 50.8 cm) Sullivan is seen looking down into hand mirror in her right hand. SIRIS Collection Number 62410024 | |||
| Eleanor in the Dory (or Study for Calm Morning) | oil on canvas | 1904 | 20 in x 16 in (50.8 cm x 40.6 cm) Eleanor, wearing a white dress, is in rowboat dropping fishing line into water. She has a bow in her long, blond hair; her back is to viewer. SIRIS Collection Number 20490110 | |||
| Children in Woods | oil on canvas | 1905 | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY | 32 in x 30 in (81.3 cm x 76.2 cm) Children in the Woods (1905) depicts a forest scene of Benson's three daughters, Eleanor, Elisabeth and Sylvia who are all dressed in white. The girls are highlighted by sunlight through the trees. SIRIS Collection Number 36120869 | ||
| Girl with Pink Bow | oil on canvas | 1905 | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) The painting is of the artist's daughter Sylvia. SIRIS Collection Number 82190232 | ||
| Girl with Pink Bow | oil on canvas | 1905 | 20.4 in x 24.5 in (51.8 cm x 62.2 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 89170083 | |||
| Philip Little, painter | oil on canvas | 1906 | Peabody Essex Museum Salem, MA | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 22620558 | ||
| Portrait of Sue | oil on canvas | 1906 | 63.3 in x 32.2 in (160.8 cm x 81.8 cm) | |||
| The Artist's Daughters or The Dining Room | 1906 | Private collection | ||||
| Rainy Day | oil on canvas | 1906 | Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH | 25 in x 30 in (63.5 cm x 76.2 cm) Elisabeth, the artist's daughter, is curled up before a fireplace on a rainy day, reading a book. SIRIS Collection Number 42831491 | ||
| Against the Sky | oil on canvas | 1906 | 41 in x 34 in (104.1 cm x 86.4 cm) A woman wearing white dress and hat with sheer white veil is standing under cloudy blue sky and holding parasol open at her side. SIRIS Collection Number 60941039 | |||
| Girls in the Garden | oil on canvas | c. 1906 | 30 in x 24.8 in (76.2 cm x 63 cm) Two girls are seated on grass; a standing woman standing, touching leaves on plant at left. SIRIS Collection Number 89170081 | |||
| Summer Afternoon | oil on canvas | 1906 | 30 in x 40 in (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm) Artist's daughters seated on grassy slope overlooking sea; Elisabeth, at left near dog, raises hand to shield eyes from sun; Eleanor, at right, holds parasol and turns head to look toward viewer; Sylvia, in center, plays with her ringlets; sailboats float in background. SIRIS Collection Number 68020155 | |||
| Eleanor in the Pines | oil on canvas | 1906 | 36 in x 26 in (91.4 cm x 66 cm) or 17 in x 24 in (43.2 cm x 61 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 89170069 | |||
| Atherton Loring, Jr. (or Atherton Loring Jr. age 6 of Boston's Duxbury, Massachusetts) | oil on canvas | 1906 | Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA | 40.3 in x 32 in (102.4 cm x 81.3 cm) The portrait was made of the boy at six years of age. | ||
| Eleanor | oil on canvas | 1907 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA | 25 in x 30 in (63.5 cm x 76.2 cm) One of the most popular of Benson's paintings, Eleanor was purchased shortly after it was painted by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The painting demonstrates Benson's adherence to French Impressionism by the use bright colors, depiction of light and fluid brushstroke of Eleanor's dress and deviation from French artists in the realistic definition of Eleanor's features with a small brush.[8] SIRIS Collection Number 20490113 | ||
| Portrait of Elizabeth Tyson Russell | oil on canvas | 1907 | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) Subject: Elizabeth Tyson Russell (as child). | |||
| Study for Portrait of My Daughters | pastel on paper | 1907 | 19.1 in x 15.1 in (48.5 cm x 38.4 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 20110007 | |||
| Portrait of My Daughters | oil on canvas | 1907 | Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA | 26 in x 36.1 in (66 cm x 91.7 cm) Benson's three daughters (left to right) Elizabeth, Sylvia, and Eleanor are depicted at their summer home, Wooster Farm on New Haven Island, Maine. Like many of the portraits of his family, Benson made the painting en plein air, or outdoors, where he could best capture the effects of sunlight on the portrait.[9] SIRIS Collection Number 23570020 | ||
| Portrait of a Lady – Mary Kemble Webb Sanders | oil on canvas | 1907 | 43.8 in x 36 in (111.3 cm x 91.4 cm) Mary was the wife of Nathaniel Sanders. | |||
| Portrait of Susie Sanders | Online image[10] | oil on board | 1907 | 43.5 in x 35.5 in (110.5 cm x 90.2 cm) | ||
| Portrait of Dorothy Lincoln | oil on canvas | 1907 | 43.5 in x 35 in (110.5 cm x 88.9 cm) Dorothy Lincoln (1890–1909). SIRIS Collection Number 63005461 | |||
| Portrait of Mrs. Hathaway | oil on canvas | 1907 | Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA | 47.3 in x 37.3 in (120.1 cm x 94.7 cm) Mabel Hathaway, was the wife of Horatio Hathaway. SIRIS Collection Number 8A220004 | ||
| Laddie | oil on canvas | 1908 | Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, ME | 36.3 in x 30 in (92.2 cm x 76.2 cm) A child is shown wearing white and running through landscape with arms out to side. SIRIS Collection Number 18660031 | ||
| Summer (or Hill-Top) (or Family Group) (or Girls on Hillside) | oil on canvas | 1909 | Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC[11] | 36.4 in x 44.4 in (92.5 cm x 112.8 cm) The painting features Benson's two daughters and their friends, Margaret Strong and Anna Hathaway.[12] SIRIS Collection Number 47480082 | ||
| Margaret 'Gretchen' Strong | oil on canvas | c. 1909 | New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT | 30.3 in x 25.3 in (77 cm x 64.3 cm) Margaret Strong, a 17-year-old neighbor and friend of Benson's daughters, is featured in the painting titled Summer made in 1909. Having seen the painting, Margaret's parents commissioned this portrait of their daughter. Margaret's profile, painted in shadow, is captured against the sea as she looks uphill toward Benson's daughters. Benson uses complementary, contrasting colors of blue in the sea and yellow in the grass and cooper-red hair that with his brisk brushstrokes bring an intensity to the work. SIRIS Collection Number 08601023 | ||
| Sunlight (or Eleanor) | oil on canvas | 1909 | Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN | 32.3 in x 20 in (82 cm x 50.8 cm) Benson painted his daughter Eleanor looking across Penobscot Bay in Maine. Critic William Howe Downes, 1911 said of this painting: "[Benson] sets before us visions of the free life of the open air... in a landscape drenched in sweet sunlight."[13] SIRIS Collection Number 13730016 | ||
| Elizabeth | b/w reproduction | 1909 | ||||
| Portrait of a Lady (or Edith Perley Kinnicutt) (or Elizabeth Perley Kinnicutt) | oil on canvas | 1909 | Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA | 50 in x 40.1 in (127 cm x 101.9 cm) Edith Perley (1856–1923) was the wife of Lincoln Kinnicutt. SIRIS Collection Number 80046146 | ||
| Girl Playing Solitaire (or Solitaire) | oil on canvas | 1909 | Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA | 50.5 in x 40.5 in (128.3 cm x 102.9 cm) The painting is an interior scene with a female figure playing solitaire. SIRIS Collection Number SIRIS Collection Number 23570019 | ||
| Elizabeth and Anna (or In Summer) | oil on canvas | 1909 | 32 in x 25 in (81.3 cm x 63.5 cm) The artist's daughter and her friend, Anna Hathaway, are seated on grassy hill; both girls wearing white dresses with bows in their hairs. Elisabeth, at left, holds white flowers in her raised hand; Anna sits with hands clasped on her knee. Penobscot Bay is below, at right. SIRIS Collection Number 26030095 | |||
| The Reader | oil on canvas | 1910 | 25 in x 30 in (63.5 cm x 76.2 cm) A female figure is seated on ground in backyard setting holding a book in her lap and an open parasol at her side. SIRIS Collection Number 68250015 | |||
| Portrait of Margaret L. Fuller | oil on canvas | 1910 | Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH | 34 in x 30 in (86.4 cm x 76.2 cm) Margaret L. French was a lifelong resident of Manchester, NH. Her portrait was commissioned at the time of her engagement in 1909. | ||
| Woman by Geraniums (or Woman with Geraniums) | oil on canvas | c. 1910 | Private collection | 28 in x 22 in (71.1 cm x 55.9 cm) A woman seated in landscape near bush of red geraniums in the foreground; she is wearing white dress with head slightly bowed. SIRIS Collection Number 80280001 | ||
| Summer Day | oil on canvas | 1911 | Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, AR | 36.1 in x 32.1 in (91.7 cm x 81.5 cm) A sunny outdoor scene with artist's daughters (Elisabeth at 18; Sylvia at 13) casting their eyes toward high horizon line where boundary between sea and sky nearly dissolves; watching sailboat race in North Haven, ME. SIRIS Collection Number 81530028 | ||
| Young Girl by a Window (or Woman near Window (or Maid in Waiting) | oil on canvas | 1911 | Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA | 30.5 in x 25.4 in (77.5 cm x 64.5 cm) Subject: artist's daughter, Eleanor. SIRIS Collection Number 10420046 | ||
| Sunshine and Shadow | oil on canvas | c. 1911 | Private collection | 30.3 in x 25.3 in (77 cm x 64.3 cm) Benson's daughters Eleanor and Elisabeth are depicted in the painting Sunshine and Shadow. He intended to keep the painting for himself but gave in to persistent requests by a collector who purchased the painting. SIRIS Collection Number 8A220006, 73530017 | ||
| Sunlight and Shadow | oil on canvas | 1911 | 44 in x 36 in (111.8 cm x 91.4 cm) Daughters Eleanor and Elisabeth are seated outdoors in shade of tree; a hat rests on the grass beside bench. SIRIS Collection Number 60630335 | |||
| Study for Young Girl with a Veil | oil on canvas | c. 1912 | Private collection | 30 in x 24.8 in (76.2 cm x 63 cm) Eleanor, Benson's oldest daughter, sat for this painting. Originally the painting was displayed in Benson's home and then bequeathed to her. Its location is now unknown. SIRIS Collection Number 8A220005 | ||
| My Daughter | oil on canvas | 1912 | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR | 30.3 in x 25.3 in (77 cm x 64.3 cm) Sylvia is portrayed in this waist-length portrait, wearing a wide-brimmed hat. SIRIS Collection Number 08260330 | ||
| Eleanor on the Hilltop | oil on canvas | 1912 | 33.5 in x 56.5 in (85.1 cm x 143.5 cm) Daughter Eleanor, wearing a white dress, is standing on hilltop, and looking out to sea; she shields her eyes from sun with her left hand. SIRIS Collection Number 89170077 | |||
| Portrait of a Young Woman | mixed media painting | 1912 | 51 in x 29 in (129.5 cm x 73.7 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 89170111 | |||
| Head of an Old Man | etching on copper plate/print | 1912 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH | |||
| Afternoon in September | oil on canvas | 1913 | Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY | 25.3 in x 30.3 in (64.3 cm x 77 cm) Afternoon in September is a painting of two of Benson's daughters. SIRIS Collection Number 02960169 | ||
| Portrait of Elisabeth (or Elisabeth) | oil on canvas | c. 1913 | 29.4 in x 24.3 in (74.7 cm x 61.7 cm) Elisabeth, standing with hands on her hips and her body faces forward but head and eyes are turned to right. She wears an Oriental jacket over a ruffled blouse. SIRIS Collection Number 89170096 | |||
| Portrait of Jane dePeyster Webster | oil on canvas | 1913 | 44 in x 36 in (111.8 cm x 91.4 cm) Webster was an eminent figure in Boston society at the turn of the 20th century and wife of Edwin Webster Sr. (m. 1893), a wealthy entrepreneur with electrical engineering and financial interests. The portrait was painted in 1913, shortly after the Websters purchased a grand townhouse in Boston (306 Chestnut Street) where this artwork was featured. | |||
| Mother and Child | drypoint etching | 1913 | Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, MA | 11.6 in x 9 in (29.5 cm x 22.9 cm) or 7.2 in x 5.9 in (18.3 cm x 15 cm) | ||
| Profile Head | etching on laid paper | 1914 | Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY | 12.7 in x 10.1 in (32.3 cm x 25.7 cm) | ||
| Head | drypoint etching/print | 1914 | Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA | 9.8 in x 8 in (24.9 cm x 20.3 cm) | ||
| The Hill Top | oil on canvas | 1914 | 40 in x 32 in (101.6 cm x 81.3 cm) Elisabeth, standing on grassy hill, holds a closed parasol with her left hand and the brim of her hat with right hand. SIRIS Collection Number 8A220037 | |||
| Portrait of Mary Spencer Fuller | oil on canvas | 1914 | Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH | 36 in x 30 in (91.4 cm x 76.2 cm) Fuller was the daughter of Margaret L. Fuller. Here she is a rosy-cheeked young girl with red hair and blue eyes wearing crisp white dress, sitting in a small chair, and clasping doll in her lap. | ||
| My Daughter Elizabeth | oil on canvas | c. 1915 | Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI | 44 in x 37 in (111.8 cm x 94 cm) The painting depicts a relaxed, graceful young woman with her back to the sea.[14] In it, Benson demonstrated his skill at composition. Diagonals were used to create movement, with Elisabeth as the focal point. It is another great example of Benson's skill at managing light and dark colors. SIRIS Collection Number 24150063 | ||
| Eleanor and Benny (or Mother and Child) | oil on canvas | 1915 | Private collection | 25 in x 30 in (63.5 cm x 76.2 cm) Benson's daughter Eleanor, wife of Ralph Lawson, is shown with her young son Frank Benson Lawson. SIRIS Collection Number 89170080 | ||
| Red and Gold | oil on canvas | 1915 | Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH | 31 in x 39 in (78.7 cm x 99.1 cm) Benson chose subjects that celebrated a civilized "ideal of grace, of dignity, of elegance", like the young woman in Red and Gold. Against a black and gold Japanese art screen, her white dress and bright red shawl gain our attention.[15] | ||
| Nan | drypoint etching/print | 1915 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA; Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY | 9.9 in x 8 in (25.1 cm x 20.3 cm) or 11.6 in x 9.1 in (29.5 cm x 23.1 cm) Nan was a drypoint printed on thick Japanese vellum. His daughter Elizabeth was either the subject of the work – or worked with her father on the drypoint.[16] | ||
| Portrait of Gertrude Russell | oil on canvas | 1915 | 54.3 in x 42 in (137.9 cm x 106.7 cm) Gertrude Russell, painted at age 11, was the granddaughter of U.S. Representative William A. Russell. | |||
| Eleanor and Benny (or Mother and Child | oil on canvas | 1916 | Private collection | 36 in x 44 in (91.4 cm x 111.8 cm) Eleanor Benson, wife of Ralph Lawson, is shown with her son Frank. SIRIS Collection Number 80040956 | ||
| Portrait of Natalie (or Natalie) | oil on canvas | 1917 | Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) Natalie appears in bright sunshine with deep blue sky in the background. She wears a brown hat trimmed with green ribbon, beige skirt, white blouse and a red and black scarf draped around shoulders. SIRIS Collection Number 23570619 | ||
| The Open Window | oil on canvas | 1917 | Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC | 52.1 in x 42.4 in (132.3 cm x 107.7 cm) Daughter Elisabeth is seated in center of sparsely furnished room, knitting held in her hands, lit by two open windows framed by louvered shutters.[17] SIRIS Collection Number 89170079 | ||
| Mrs. Henry Harrison Proctor with Barbara & Frances | oil | 1917 | SIRIS Collection Number 9A470006 | |||
| Portrait of Philip Moen Childs | oil on canvas | 1918 | Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS | 44 in x 36 in (111.8 cm x 91.4 cm) SIRIS Collection Number 45130183 | ||
| Elizabeth | etching on wove paper/print | 1918 | Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA | 13.9 in x 11 in (35.3 cm x 27.9 cm) | ||
| Boy in Blue | oil on canvas | 1918 | 40 in x 32 in (101.6 cm x 81.3 cm) or 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) SIRIS Collection Numbers 61071761, 8A730020, 89170030 | |||
| Portrait of Doctor Hugh Williams | drypoint etching/print | 1918 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH | 8 in x 5.9 in (20.3 cm x 15 cm) | ||
| Portrait of Augustus Hemenway | drypoint etching on laid paper/print | 1919 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA | 9 in x 7 in (22.9 cm x 17.8 cm) Hemenway (1853–1931) was a Bostonian philanthropist and public servant. Benson made eight trial proofs of the portrait of Augustus Hemenway. The published images were made on fine Japanese Shogun and Kochi paper.[18] | ||
| The Sunny Window | oil on canvas | 1919 | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) Eleanor is seated facing right with her head bowed over her sewing. Sunlight enters room from window which occupies most of upper third of painting. SIRIS Collection Number 08582618 | |||
| Colonel Bolling | drypoint etching/print | c. 1919 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY | |||
| Portrait of Charles Martin Loeffler | etching on laid paper/print | 1919 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA | 9.9 in x 7.9 in (25.1 cm x 20.1 cm) Loeffler (1861–1935) was a French-born American violinist and composer. | ||
| Nascaupée Native American | drypoint etching on laid paper/print | 1921 | Museum of Art, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL | 7.8 in x 5.9 in (19.8 cm x 15 cm) | ||
| Reflections (or Girl with Mirror) | oil on canvas | 1921 | Private collection | 43.8 in x 36 in (111.3 cm x 91.4 cm) Reflections, a skillful execution of indoor lighting, is Benson's last-known interior. He made it of his daughter Elisabeth who is depicted in a reflective mood. The painting is interesting compositionally, Elisabeth sat in a mandarin coat in a skillfully arranged placement of supporting objects. SIRIS Collection Number 61200167 | ||
| The Watcher | oil on canvas | 1921 | Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) Daughter Sylvia stands with left hand shielding her eyes from sun as she looks out across water with a sailboat at sea beyond her. SIRIS Collection Number 56980097 | ||
| Metcalf Sketching | pencil | 1921 | Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH | 10 in x 8.5 in (25.4 cm x 21.6 cm) | ||
| Portrait of Willard Metcalf | watercolor | c. 1921 | Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME | 20 in x 14 in (50.8 cm x 35.6 cm) In the painting Metcalf paints a watercolor which he holds in his lap while sitting on edge of river. He is wearing a hat and red bandana. SIRIS Collection Number 18830149 | ||
| Portrait of Mr. Malloch | drypoint etching/print | 1921 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH | |||
| Portrait of Mrs. Malloch | drypoint etching/print | 1921 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH | |||
| Portrait of a Man (or Study in Shadows) | oil on canvas | 1922 | Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA | 30 in x 24.5 in (76.2 cm x 62.2 cm) The subject is Parker R. Stone. SIRIS Collection Numbers 18660575, 89170034 | ||
| Portrait of a Man | Online image[19] | drypoint etching on wove paper/print | 1923 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA | 7.9 in x 6 in (20.1 cm x 15.2 cm) or 12.6 in x 9.8 in (32 cm x 24.9 cm) Artwork is indicated "To Fred Saunderson". | |
| Portrait of Arthur Tracy Cabot | Online image[20] | drypoint etching on wove paper/print | 1923 | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA | 9.9 in x 8 in (25.1 cm x 20.3 cm) The subject is Dr. Arthur T. Cabot. | |
| Old Tom | watercolor on paper | 1923 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA | 20.1 in x 14.1 in (51.1 cm x 35.8 cm) Old Tom, the caretaker of Benson's hunting cabin, inspired this painting and an etching with the same title.[21] | ||
| Portrait of Richard Saltonstall | Online image[22] | oil on canvas | 1924 | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA | 36 in x 44 in (91.4 cm x 111.8 cm) Benson made this portrait of his friend, an attorney, two years after he died. By 1924 he had essentially given up accepting portrait commissions, so it was likely the friendship with Mr. Saltonstall that inspired him to create this work. SIRIS Collection Number 22661443 | |
| Portrait of Richard Cockburn Maclaurin | Online image[23] | oil on canvas | 1925 | MIT Museum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA | 40 in x 55 in (101.6 cm x 139.7 cm) Maclaurin was the president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 1909–1920. | |
| Old Tom | etching/print | 1926 | 14 in x 9 in (35.6 cm x 22.9 cm) Old Tom was the caretaker of Benson's hunting cabin. | |||
| Two Boys | Online image[24] | oil on canvas | 1926 | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY | 32.4 in x 40.1 in (82.3 cm x 101.9 cm) The artist's grandsons, Frank and Ralph Lawson, are shown with a dog in tall grassy landscape at Wooster Farm in North Haven. SIRIS Collection Number 36120282 | |
| Portrait of Elihu Thomson | Online image[25] | oil on canvas | 1937 | MIT Museum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA | 36.3 in x 44 in (92.2 cm x 111.8 cm) Thomson (1853–1937) was the acting president of MIT from 1920 to 1923. | |
| Leverett Saltonstall, Jr. | oil | SIRIS Collection Number 82400101 | ||||
| Arrivederci | Online image[26] | oil | 35.4 in x 46.9 in (89.9 cm x 119.1 cm) A girl looks out to sea waving handkerchief. | |||
| Portrait of Mrs. Abbott | Online image[27] | oil on canvas | 41.3 in x 33 in (104.9 cm x 83.8 cm) | |||
| Seated Figure (or Woman in White) | Online image[28] | oil on canvas | 30 in x 25 in (76.2 cm x 63.5 cm) Seated Figure is a half-length portrait of a woman seated facing left with hands folded in her lap; she wears a white dress. SIRIS Collection Number 71500865 | |||
| Yound Man on a Roan Horse in the Mountains | Online image[29] | watercolor on board |