Roloff Beny (1924–1984) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in oth ...

who spent the better part of his life in Rome and on his photographic travels throughout the world. Born Wilfred Roy Beny in

Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are withi ...

, he later took as his first name ''Roloff'', his mother's maiden name.

Life

Beny was born in

on January 7, 1924. Beny studied at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and took art classes at the

Banff Centre for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

. At Iowa, he studied with master printmaker Mauricio Lasansky, who gave him one of his prints. Beny began photographing in the 1950s simply as a way to capture scenes for his paintings before growing more interested in the medium."Roloff Beny Is Dead at 60; Painter and Photographer." ''The New York Times'', published: March 17, 198

, Archived
via the The New York Times#TimesMachine, TimesMachine,'' Retrieved 13 January 2023. He maintained a photographic studio in

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to t ...

throughout his life and used the studio while visiting his relatives.

Development of fame

Beny had a considerable reputation and exhibition record as the maker of progressive painting, drawing and printmaking in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was recognized as one of the leading abstract artists of his day with works of the period exhibited and collected at that time by 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 ...

, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

, the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...

, and the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

, among others. His work in painting, drawing and prints is discussed in ''Roloff Beny Visual Journeys''. His book ''To Every Thing There is a Season'' was presented to visiting heads of state during Canada's 1967 centennial celebration. In 1968 his book ''India'' was chosen by the Indian Government to celebrate the centenary of Gandhi's birth. Canada, as Beny remarked, had "no temples two thousand years old, no paths worn hard by passionate travelers."Roloff Beny, ''To Every Thing There Is a Season''. The Viking Press, New York, 1967. But the photographer soon found his way to those paths and temples in the course of "insatiable wanderings in Europe and Asia," and, above all, around the perimeter of the Mediterranean. Beny was in early days a protégé of

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with ...

and

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read ...

. The circle of friends around him—actors, artists, collectors, writers—included

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by th ...

Rose Macaulay Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, (1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer, most noted for her award-winning novel '' The Towers of Trebizond'', about a small Anglo-Catholic group crossing Turkey by camel. The story is seen as a spiritu ...

Bernard Berenson Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...

, and other makers of art and literature. His books have been published in America, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iran, and Japan.

Career in its peak; life's end

Beny was obsessed with the beauty of the world. He has been called "a poetic photographer" and he was a passionate aesthete. His photographic journeys were recorded in a series of large-scale volumes which appeared over the years. Beny's work is in the collections of the

, the

, and the

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

. "I see majestic ruins even in the architecture of the skies," he wrote in the Preface to his book, ''Pleasure of Ruins''. Roloff Beny died March 16, 1984, of a heart attack, aged 60, in his Roman studio overlooking the Tiber. His last four volumes appeared posthumously. Beny donated his artwork including collections of Canadian and international art, together with his papers, to the

University of Lethbridge Art Gallery , mottoeng = ''Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Weasel ...

Roloff Beny's books

*1958 – ''The Thrones of Earth and Heaven'', H.N. Abrams *1962 – ''A Time of Gods'', Studio, *1964 – ''Interprets in Photographs: Pleasure of Ruins'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston, *1967 – ''To Every Thing There is a Season, Roloff Beny in Canada'', Thames and Hudson *1967 – ''Japan in Color'', McGraw-Hill *1969 – ''India'', Roloff Beny and

Aubrey Menen Salvator Aubrey Clarence Menen (22 April 1912 – 13 March 1989) was a British writer, novelist, satirist and theatre critic. Born in London, his essays and novels explore the nature of nationalism and the cultural contrast between his own Irish ...

, Thames & Hudson Ltd, *1970 – ''Island Ceylon'', Studio, *1974 – ''Roloff Beny in Italy'', McClelland and Stewart, *1974 – ''Persia, Bridge of Turquoise'', Roloff Beny,

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (; fa, سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian philosopher and University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education in Iran and the Unite ...

and Mitchell Crites, New York Graphic Society, *1978 – ''Iran, Elements of Destiny'', Everest House, *1981 – ''The Churches of Rome'', Roloff Beny and

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, *1981 – ''Odyssey: Mirror on the Mediterranean'', Harpercollins, *1983 – ''The Gods of Greece'', Roloff Beny and

Arianna Stassinopoulos Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of ''The ...

, Harry N. Abrams *1984 – ''Rajasthan, Land of Kings'', McClelland & Stewart, (Beny died while this book was in publication.) *1985 – ''The Romance of Architecture'', H.N. Abrams, (posthumous) *1985 – ''Iceland'', McClelland & Stewart, (posthumous) *1994 – ''Visual Journeys'', Roloff Beny, Mitchell Crites and Michael Crites, Thames & Hudson, (posthumous) *1995 – ''People, Legends in Life and Art'', Roloff Beny, Mitchell Crites and Jack McClelland, Thames & Hudson, (posthumous)

Awards

His books won awards throughout a long career, beginning with ''The Thrones of Earth and Heaven'' in 1958. ''To Every Thing There is a Season: Roloff Beny in Canada'' is a study of his native land. In 1972 he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor Gener ...

References

External links

Library and Archives Canada: Legends in Life and Art: The Portrait Photography of Roloff Beny

Roloff Beny, Lethbridge College Buchanan Art Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beny, Roloff 1924 births 1984 deaths Artists from Alberta University of Toronto alumni Trinity College (Canada) alumni Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Officers of the Order of Canada People from Medicine Hat Canadian expatriates in Italy