John Howard Benson (July 6, 1901 – February 23, 1956) was an American calligrapher, stonecarver, incised letter designer, author, and educator.

Career

He was educated at Rogers High School, the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

, and the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

. Benson was a professor of Sculpture and Calligraphy + Design Theory at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

from 1931 to his death in 1956. He did carvings for

, Groton School, Phillips Exeter Academy, and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. Benson designed the school's diploma and seal, in use to this day, as well as the seal of The Wheeler School. Benson was the author of ''The Elements of Lettering'' with coauthor Arthur Graham Carey. He was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1955.

Robert J. Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...

began a documentary film on the sculptor.

Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar coin

Benson co-designed the 1936 commemorative Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar with Arthur Graham Carey.

Personal life

Benson was the originator of a long line of stone carving masters in his family. He is the father of John Everett "Fud" Benson and grandfather of Nicholas "Nick" Benson, the current director of The John Stevens Shop, which was purchased by John Howard in 1927. Benson's youngest son Richard Mead Atwater Benson was unable to cut stone because of his allergic reaction to stone dust. He went on to be a print maker and photographer, later teaching photography at Yale. One of Benson's many legacies is that Richard and Nick both received MacArthur fellowships, making the Benson family only one of a handful to receive multiple MacArthur awards.

Bibliography

* John E. Benson. ''The Letter Cutter: The Life and Work of John Howard Benson''. Santa Fe: The Fisher Press, 2018. 295 pages. 9780578419084

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, John Howard 1901 births Artists from Newport, Rhode Island American engravers American stonemasons Rhode Island School of Design faculty Stone carvers 1956 deaths Coin designers American currency designers 20th-century engravers