Anthony Benjamin
Encyclopedia
Anthony Benjamin was an English artist noted for his abstract
s. Born in Boarhunt, Hampshire, he dropped out of an engineering apprenticeship in 1949 to study art at the Regent Street Polytechnic, an education that was complemented by three months' studying drawing in Paris with Fernand Léger
.
When he graduated in 1954, he was working in a social realist style and exhibited at the Beaux Arts gallery
, the London home of the kitchen-sink artists. The following year he moved to a cottage on the Cornish moors near St Ives
, then a centre for abstract art
.
St. Ives had been dominated by the influence of Ben Nicholson
and Barbara Hepworth
but by 1956 the "Middle Generation" of Peter Lanyon
, Patrick Heron
, Bryan Wynter
and Terry Frost
were becoming well established in Britain and were soon to be known in New York
. Lanyon persuaded Benjamin to join the Newlyn Society of Artists, which he had set up as a reaction to the Penwith Society of Arts. Benjamin had his first one man exhibition there in 1958. Like Lanyon, he produced paintings abstracted from the Cornish landscape and sea, but with an expansiveness that revealed an early appreciation of the American abstract expressionists, whose work was being seen in Britain for the first time. His time in Cornwall was punctuated by a scholarship to study printmaking at SW Hayter's legendary Atelier 17 in Paris.
In Cornwall, Benjamin met a young Canadian artist, Nancy Patterson. In 1960, he was awarded an Italian government fellowship, and the two lived in Italy before moving to London the following year; they remained lifelong companions.
Important exhibitions at the ICA
in 1966, and at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, the following year, were dominated by large sculptures made of perspex, fibreglass and highly polished chrome, which were well received by the critics.
At a point when Benjamin seemed to be on the verge of secure recognition, he moved to North America, where British artists were well-respected, and, between 1967 and 1972, he held several positions as professor of fine art: at the University of Calgary
; York University, Toronto; Hayward State College, California, and Ontario College of Art.
By the time he returned to Britain in 1973, his reputation had faded. Nonetheless, he established himself as a prolific and gifted printmaker, producing his own work and, through his Hope (Sufferance) Press, that of other artists.
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
s. Born in Boarhunt, Hampshire, he dropped out of an engineering apprenticeship in 1949 to study art at the Regent Street Polytechnic, an education that was complemented by three months' studying drawing in Paris with Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
.
When he graduated in 1954, he was working in a social realist style and exhibited at the Beaux Arts gallery
Beaux Arts Gallery
Beaux Arts Gallery, London, England, founded in 1923 and closed in 1965, was known as a preeminent center for promoting avant-garde art.Founded and operated by portrait sculptor Frederick Lessore in 1923, the gallery was run by his wife Helen Lessore, a painter, until it closed in 1965...
, the London home of the kitchen-sink artists. The following year he moved to a cottage on the Cornish moors near St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
, then a centre for abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
.
St. Ives had been dominated by the influence of Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
and Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
but by 1956 the "Middle Generation" of Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon was a Cornish painter of landscapes leaning heavily towards abstraction. He also made constructions, pottery and collage....
, Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron , was an English painter, writer and designer, based in St. Ives, Cornwall.- Early life :...
, Bryan Wynter
Bryan Wynter
Bryan Wynter was one of the St. Ives group of British painters. His work was mainly abstract, drawing upon nature for inspiration....
and Terry Frost
Terry Frost
Sir Terry Frost RA was an English artist noted for his abstracts....
were becoming well established in Britain and were soon to be known in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Lanyon persuaded Benjamin to join the Newlyn Society of Artists, which he had set up as a reaction to the Penwith Society of Arts. Benjamin had his first one man exhibition there in 1958. Like Lanyon, he produced paintings abstracted from the Cornish landscape and sea, but with an expansiveness that revealed an early appreciation of the American abstract expressionists, whose work was being seen in Britain for the first time. His time in Cornwall was punctuated by a scholarship to study printmaking at SW Hayter's legendary Atelier 17 in Paris.
In Cornwall, Benjamin met a young Canadian artist, Nancy Patterson. In 1960, he was awarded an Italian government fellowship, and the two lived in Italy before moving to London the following year; they remained lifelong companions.
Important exhibitions at the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
in 1966, and at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, the following year, were dominated by large sculptures made of perspex, fibreglass and highly polished chrome, which were well received by the critics.
At a point when Benjamin seemed to be on the verge of secure recognition, he moved to North America, where British artists were well-respected, and, between 1967 and 1972, he held several positions as professor of fine art: at the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
; York University, Toronto; Hayward State College, California, and Ontario College of Art.
By the time he returned to Britain in 1973, his reputation had faded. Nonetheless, he established himself as a prolific and gifted printmaker, producing his own work and, through his Hope (Sufferance) Press, that of other artists.
External links
- Obituary in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Obituary in The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
- Works by Benjamin in the Tate collection