Frank W. Benson (1862-1951), In the Marsh (Duck Hunting)

About Auction

Live

The Winter Sale 2022, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Mar 4, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-03-04 10:00:00 2022-03-04 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2022, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2022-day-1-8719
Lots 1-264 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

View Full Catalog (263)

• Lot Description
  Frank W. Benson (1862-1951)
  In the Marsh (Duck Hunting), 1916
  signed and dated "F.W. Benson '16" lower left
  ink wash, 13 1/4 by 19 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.
  
  This classic Benson ink wash combines accurate representation of waterfowl hunting with Benson's painterly brush strokes to create a beautiful, captivating landscape.
  
  Provenance: Private Collection
  Sotheby's New York, May 24, 2006, lot 102
  Private Collection, Utah

  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

  • Copley Fine Art Auctions does not handle the shipping of any items. Shipping is the sole responsibility of the buyer. Once your payment has cleared, and we have received your authorized shipping release form items may be released for shipment. Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC shall have no liability for any loss or damage to such items. Buyers should allow up to four weeks for shipment.