1r1H1IE lLillFIE
&AA1r Of
JOHN PRENTISS BENSON
':4 Fair Wind" (oil/canvas, 24" x 42''. date unknown) by Margaret M. Betts ohn Prentiss Benson (1865-1947) grew up only rwo blocks from the wharf in Salem, Massachusetts. He inh erited an interest in painting and arr from his moth er, who, according to broth er Frank, used to "escape from the world" to a small room at the top of their house to paint. Of her six children, the rwo oldest boys, Frank
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'Jo/ut)
ifJr;u are j~ to paUt,t-PAINT!"
and John, developed a lifelong interest, and eventual careers, in painting. As a young man, John also became fascinated with the new study of photography, and this wo uld enabl e him to keep valuable reco rds of his paintings afrer he became a full -rim e arti st at the age of 5 7. At 18, when John Benson was making decisions on a career, he expressed a serious interest in painting. It was nor ro be; wi th older brother Frank already an established artist, his parents made irclearrharoneartisr in the family was enough. John's sights on a profession turned elsewhere. He directed his creati ve talents towards architecture and ended up in Paris, studying architecture, watercolors, and design. Returning to the
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US in 1889, he was invited to join a wellknown architectural firm in New York where he stayed for a few years before moving on to found his own firm. He enjoyed a successful career as an architect in New York C ity for the next rwenty-seve n years. By 1921 , three of his four children were grown and our of the house. John and wife
Bessiewere vacarioning in England when his brother Frank sent him a birthday telegram that changed the course of his life. Ir read, "John, if yo u are going to paint- PAINT! " The riming was right, and, over th e next rwo years, he phased out his practice and starred painting full rime-and selling. Ever meticulous, he kept a careful record ofhis paintings in a logbook, photographing many, and noting their tide and size. H e maintained logbooks from 1922 through 1944. According to his family, whenever he went off to paint, he was serious abo ut it, "dressing up in a suit, hat and necktie, always looking as though he was going off to some office in the city. " In the 1930s, John exh ibited often. He
painted co ntinuously until his death in 1947. His last exhibition of rwenty-four paintings was held in August 1947 at his studio in Kittery, Maine. He died three months later at age 82. In additio n to the paintings he left behind, John Benson's legacy includes documentation for more than 600 paintings, which have recen rl y been published in The Artistic Legacy ofjohn Prentiss Benson, compiled and ed ited by N icholas]. Baker. ,t
SEA fHlSTORY 106, WINTER 2004