EUR
CAD
AUD
GBP
MXN
HKD
CNY
MYR
SEK
SGD
CHF
THBFrank W. Benson (1862-1951), Bald Eagles (The Eagles)
About Seller
65 Sharp Street
Hingham, MA 02043
United States
Copley Fine Art Auctions is the world's leading American sporting art auction company. Located in Hingham, MA, Copley specializes in antique decoys and 19th- and 20th-century American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Principal Stephen O'Brien Jr., a fourth-generation sportsman with a refined colle...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Two ways to bid:
- Leave a max absentee bid and the platform will bid on your behalf up to your maximum bid during the live auction.
- Bid live during the auction and your bids will be submitted real-time to the auctioneer.
Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,500 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $25,000 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
About Auction
LiveFeb 23, 2024
Lots 1-238 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com
View Full Catalog (238)
- Lot Description
Frank W. Benson (1862-1951)
Bald Eagles (The Eagles), 1941
signed and dated "F.W. Benson '41" lower left
oil on canvas, 39 3/4 by 32 in.
Frank Weston Benson, one of the Ten American Painters and a leading influence in the Boston School of American Impressionism, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on March 24, 1862. In his youth, Benson was a gifted athlete and excelled at boxing, sailing, and tennis. Growing up along the extensive marshes surrounding his native Salem, Benson learned to hunt and fish at an early age.
Benson loved nature and birds in particular. He wanted to combine his love for birds and his love for art by pursuing a career as an ornithological illustrator in the manner of John James Audubon (1785-1851). As a child he spent many hours at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard and Benson’s mother, who was herself a painter, encouraged him in this pursuit.
In 1880, Benson enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He studied with the school’s founding teachers, Otto Grundmann (1844-1890) and Frederick Crowninshield (1845-1918). Among his classmates were Willard Metcalf (1858-1925), William Bicknell (1860-1947), Edmund C. Tarbell (1862-1938), and Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950). Benson learned quickly and was recognized as a particularly gifted student. In 1882, while still attending classes at the Museum School, Benson began to teach free evening drawing classes in Salem.
In 1885 Benson rented a painting studio in Salem. He began to exhibit at the Boston Art Club and the National Academy of Design in New York, receiving much critical acclaim and numerous awards. After his marriage to Ellen Peirson in 1888, he taught at the Boston Museum School with his friend Edmund Tarbell intermittently until 1930.
Three years before completing this painting, in 1938, a joint Benson-Tarbell retrospective at the MFA in Boston "broke all attendance records at the museum," according to Benson scholar Faith Andrews Bedford. She also writes, “The eagles that soared high above the waters off Benson’s summer home on North Haven often served as models for Benson’s numerous watercolor and oil studies.”
She continues, “North Haven also provided Benson with wide vistas of water and blue hills beyond, scenes of eagles swirling above storm-tossed seas…It was a rich environment for a painter.” In this fine work, painted at the cusp of America’s involvement in World War II, Benson captures both the impressive power of our national symbol and a looming squall over a turbulent sea.
Please note this work had some notable restoration, contact our office for a full condition report.
Provenance: The artist
Collection of Katherine Shaw Kripke and Samuel Benson Shaw, by descent in the family
Literature: Faith Andrews Bedford, "The Sporting Art of Frank W. Benson," Boston: David R. Godine, 2000, pp. 31, 129, full-page illustrated.Condition
Please email condition report requests to leah@copleyart.com. Any condition statement given is a courtesy to customers, Copley will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition.
- Shipping Info
-
Shipping info
Copley does not offer in-house packing or shipping. For clients who require shipping, please complete the Shipping Release Form and return it with your payment. The form includes a list of shippers we frequently work with.
-
- Buyer's Premium
