Product Description
Frank Benson, a pivotal artist of the American Impressionist movement had, it would seem, three great loves in his long and productive life: his family, his art, and the sporting life. As a boy, Benson dreamed of being an ornithological illustrator. In mid-life, after an extremely successful career as a portraitist and painter of plein air canvases, he returned to the wildfowl and sporting subjects that were his lifelong passion. Over the next forty years, in etching, lithography, watercolor, and oil and wash, he portrayed birds beloved since childhood, scenes of his hunting and fishing expeditions, and still lives of incomparable delicacy. Whether painting a hunter setting out decoys, a wash of geese by moonlight, a watercolor of a companion poised to gaff a salmon, or an etching of a group of ducks silently gliding in for a landing, Benson conveyed the joy and beauty of a sportsman's life.



This is the first book to concentrate on the aspect of Benson's career that won him both national and international renown as well as financial prosperity. Written by Faith Andrews Bedford, who also wrote the definitive monograph on his career, it draws on a rich store of family memories, diaries, letters and archives to create an intimate portrait of a man who was not only a successful artist but a consummate sportsman. From Benson's student days at the Boston Museum School, where he eventually became a teacher and director, to his frequent trips to his farm house on Cape Cod, where he spent countless days hunting, fishing, and sketching; from his annual salmon fishing trips to his many shooting expeditions in Canada, the Atlantic coast, the American South and the Rockies, this book touches on every aspect of his life and art. When he died in 1951, Benson had garnered every award of his day, the respect of his peers, and the admiration and affection of a devoted public. Here is a book that presents his sporting art, and his life, in all its forms and rich variety. We offer it with pride and enthusiasm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A bargain
This is a book that delivers what an art book should: good reproductions at a decent size, good writing, and good information not only on the artist but his art and techniques as well. Compared to the outrageous prices for used copies of Faith Andrews' companion book on Benson, this book is a steal at only 14.00, including shipping.

The Sporting Art of Frank W. Benson
The Maine Antique Digest (Sam Pennington, Editor mad@maine.com) wrote this neat review and I am sharing it with everyone who might want to know more about this great book.

This handsomely produced, definitive book is replete with reproductions of paintings, etchings, and lithographs of waterfowl and related works of Frank W. Benson, a pivotal artist of the American Impressionist movement. Benson's accurate depictions of birds have commanded high prices, and rightly so. This book will be an invaluable addition to the libraries of art collectors.

Faith Andrews Bedford gathered diverse and firsthand source material. She covers Benson's career by melding his primary interests: his family, his art, and the sporting life, not to mention his lifelong passion for birds. By interlacing her text with commentary from interviews with Benson's family, diaries, letters, photographs, and historical articles, she creates a lively, immediate flavor.

Chapter three, "A Sense of Place," begins by telling how the Benson family first visited North Haven island in Maine's Penobscot Bay in June 1901. They eventually bought Wooster Farm and summered there for about 40 years. I have a particular fondness for that island and was transported by the descriptions of their initial visits and their farm on Crabtree Point. To exemplify how neatly Bedford packs information, here is a quote from early in that chapter: "Benson's North Haven paintings of his family were praised by critics and collectors for capturing the `joyous gaiety' and `holiday mood' of life on the island. They sold almost as soon as they were seen by the public...Benson was not an indoor man by nature and far preferred the `life outside the studio.' Although his wife and daughters enjoyed the theater and music and for decades held the same two seats for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he did not often accompany them. Nor did he enjoy the confines of church. He felt the place to worship God and respect His handiwork was through nature."

There is mention also of their tennis court at the farm, interest in golf, and of course the birds and fishing. Bedford adds other significant information about how the island affected Benson's art: "It was to become the site of many milestones, not only in his family life but in his art as well. Benson began his etching career on North Haven. Originally, this aspect of his work was merely a diversion, an experiment." This taste gives an inkling of the abundant information compiled. It is clearly presented and a good biographical resource.

Benson lived a long, fruitful life. Bedford, who has become a scholar capable of making such statements, says, "Benson was, perhaps, that rarest of humans, a happy man. Not that he ever rested on his laurels, not that he did not look constantly for challenges...He had reaped rewards and financial success from his art, had won fame and recognition in his own lifetime-something he realized few artists ever achieved...In Benson's own words, the secret to both tranquil enjoyment and success was in doing what you love." ... Read more

Product Description
Frank Benson's masterpiece paintings of turn-of-the-century American society, New England's ports and country, and wildlife and sporting subjects, are among the most popular American works of art. His sparkling plein air painting of young women in white dresses are widely reproduced and his etchings and sporting paintings are generally considered to be some of America's best.

This first full-scale monograph on Benson's entire career, summarizes his progress from his early promise as a young art student at the Academie Julian in Paris to his leading role as a teacher, portraitist, and painter in Boston and New England. Benson is particularly acclaimed for his splendid outdoor, sun-dappled portraits of members of his family, often in settings on the Maine coastline, as well as for his later, archetypal works of wildfowl, fishing, and hunting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Dynamite art book; also a great read!
I had thought that Benson was strictly a painter of Victorian era young ladies in seaside settings. This bio (by a descendent) fleshes out his various careersas a painter of oils, a teacher, a water colorist and whatever is the correct term for one who creates etchings.Also provides a good overview of the American art scene (especially "The Ten") during the transition from the 19th to the 20th century. ... Read more

Product Description
A prominent figure in the Boston School and a member ofthe Ten American painters, Frank W. Benson executed a spectaculargroup of Impressionist works between 1897 and 1920 during summersspent on North Haven Island, Maine. Depicting his wife and daughtersat leisure in the outdoors, Benson created vivid sunlit imagesexpressive of the idyllic pleasures of endless August afternoons on abreezy, refreshing coastal landscape.This 74-page catalogue includesessays by Sheila Dugan, William H. Gerdts, and John Wilmerding. Inaddition to color illustrations of the twelve works in the show, thereare ten color and twenty-two black and white reproductions. ... Read more

Product Description
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Second Printing. Twelve reproduction plates by artist Frank Benson, tipped in, and removable for framing. Pages upon which plates are mounted are double, uncut. With a five-page introduction about Benson by Charles Morgan. ... Read more

Product Description
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more