Frank Bender
Encyclopedia
Francis Augustus "Frank" Bender (June 16, 1941 – July 28, 2011) was a world-renowned autodidact forensic artist and fine artist. His job was to make facial reconstructions of the dead and of fugitives
, many of whom had, or still have, been on the run for a long time. He primarily worked in clay and then cast his pieces into plaster and painted them, but he has also aged fugitives using pastels. His most famous facial reconstruction case led to the arrest of John Emil List, whose case was shown on America's Most Wanted
.
Bender's artistry stemmed from his forensic work and was a blend of art and science. He created life-sized monuments in bronze for the African Burial Grounds in New York (using three of the actual skulls found on the site), a monument for slain police officers in New Jersey, a Holocaust obelisk
.
Bender was one of the founding members of the Vidocq Society
along with William Fleisher and Richard Walter
. The Vidocq Society, named after Eugène François Vidocq
, meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and focuses on solving cold cases.
On May 13, 2008 Random House
released The Girl With the Crooked Nose by Ted Botha, a book on Bender's life story intertwined with his most challenging case: the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez
.
In August 2010 Penguin Books
released The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo in which Frank Bender was a central character. It is based on the Vidocq Society
of which Bender is a founder.
In 2009, Bender was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, a disease caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos
from his time in the Navy, putting an end to a distinguished career.
Bender died on July 28, 2011 at his home in his native Philadelphia, aged 70, from pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer that attacks the outer lining of the lungs.
Fugitives
The Fugitives were a group of poets and literary scholars who came together at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, around 1920. They published a small literary magazine called The Fugitive from 1922-1925 which showcased their works...
, many of whom had, or still have, been on the run for a long time. He primarily worked in clay and then cast his pieces into plaster and painted them, but he has also aged fugitives using pastels. His most famous facial reconstruction case led to the arrest of John Emil List, whose case was shown on America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
.
Bender's artistry stemmed from his forensic work and was a blend of art and science. He created life-sized monuments in bronze for the African Burial Grounds in New York (using three of the actual skulls found on the site), a monument for slain police officers in New Jersey, a Holocaust obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
.
Bender was one of the founding members of the Vidocq Society
Vidocq society
The Vidocq Society is a members-only crime-solving club that meets on the third Thursday of every month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The Vidocq Society is named for Eugène François Vidocq, the ground-breaking nineteenth century French detective who helped police by using the psychology of the...
along with William Fleisher and Richard Walter
Richard Walter
Richard Walter is an American forensic psychologist for the Michigan prison system, a crime scene analyst and one of the creators of modern criminal profiling.-Career:...
. The Vidocq Society, named after Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac...
, meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and focuses on solving cold cases.
On May 13, 2008 Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
released The Girl With the Crooked Nose by Ted Botha, a book on Bender's life story intertwined with his most challenging case: the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez
Female homicides in Ciudad Juárez
The phenomenon of the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez, called in Spanish the feminicidios and las muertas de Juárez , involves the violent deaths of hundreds of women since 1993 in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, a border city across the Rio Grande from the U.S. city of El...
.
In August 2010 Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
released The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo in which Frank Bender was a central character. It is based on the Vidocq Society
Vidocq society
The Vidocq Society is a members-only crime-solving club that meets on the third Thursday of every month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The Vidocq Society is named for Eugène François Vidocq, the ground-breaking nineteenth century French detective who helped police by using the psychology of the...
of which Bender is a founder.
In 2009, Bender was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, a disease caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
from his time in the Navy, putting an end to a distinguished career.
Bender died on July 28, 2011 at his home in his native Philadelphia, aged 70, from pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer that attacks the outer lining of the lungs.