Frank Benson

American (1862-1951)

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, American Impressionist Frank Benson studied at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston under Otto Grundmann and at the Academie Julian with Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefebvre. Benson was a founding member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Guild of Boston Artists and the ‘Ten American Painters,’ a prestigious group of early impressionists. In 1900, Benson purchased a farm and studio on North Haven Island off the coast of Maine. It was there that his style became increasingly impressionistic. Benson is credited with being known as one of the outstanding 20th-century wildlife printmakers.

Benson was a member of the Boston Art Club, National Academy of Design, Society of American Artists and Guild of Boston Artists. He exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Exposition Universelle in Paris, Lousiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and the Panama Pacific Exhibition in San Francisco, as well as at the Art Institute of Chicago, Corcoran Gallery, Carnegie Institute, International and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Benson’s works are held in numerous public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Worcester Art Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art.