Gershon Benjamin"The Model"circa 1918
circa 1918
About the Item
- Creator:Gershon Benjamin (1899, American)
- Creation Year:circa 1918
- Dimensions:Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Lambertville, NJ
- Reference Number:
Gershon Benjamin
In a body of work that spans seven decades, obscure American modernist artist Gershon Benjamin explored a varied range of tone, style and subject matter in watercolor, oil and charcoal. Not one to resign himself to a single trademark theme, Benjamin focused on an eclectic array of subjects. His paintings included landscapes, portraits, still lifes and urban scenes.
Benjamin was born in Romania just before the turn of the 20th century. His family moved to Montreal in 1901 to escape ethnic persecution. At 10, Benjamin began studying art at the Canadian Council of Arts and Manufacturers, in Quebec. When he was 12, the Royal Canadian Academy admitted Benjamin.
In 1923, Benjamin moved to New York City, where he secured a night job in the art department of The Sun newspaper. He also enrolled in the Art Students League, where he learned engraving from the notable lithographer Joseph Pennell and drawing from illustrator John Sloan.
Benjamin found inspiration in the work of Pablo Picasso and Paul Cézanne. He depicted urban life in meditative Expressionist paintings that later drew comparisons to the Ashcan School — Benjamin painted scenes of New York City’s blocky skyline, elevated subway trains, empty streets at dawn and the Brooklyn Bridge as he saw them on his way home from his night shift at the newspaper.
In New York, Benjamin forged friendships with creative people who were as in love with art as he was and painted with them in Gloucester, Massachusetts, during the city’s hot summers. A number of his acquaintances found a fair amount of fame — including artists Mark Rothko, Raphael Soyer and Milton Avery — whereas Benjamin sought none. And when artists of the era in Manhattan and elsewhere began to work in the style that would become known as Abstract Expressionism, Benjamin continued to create representational art. He remained largely obscure throughout his career, declining to promote or market his still lifes, landscapes and portraiture.
Benjamin's works are held in a number of private and public collections including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Ulrich Museum of Art.
Find original Gershon Benjamin paintings on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lambertville, NJ
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- "Admired"By Gershon BenjaminLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Ben...Category
1940s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite
- "Attitude"By Gershon BenjaminLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Ben...Category
1930s Modern Nude Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite
- "After the Bath"By Gershon BenjaminLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Ben...Category
1940s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPastel
- "Contemplation"By Gershon BenjaminLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...Category
1920s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite
- "Manhattan"By Gershon BenjaminLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...Category
1920s Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite
- "Blue and Yellow Square"By Burgoyne DillerLocated in Lambertville, NJJim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by Burgoyne Diller (1906 – 1965). Born in New York City in 1906, Burgoyne Diller began drawing when he was stri...Category
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Crayon, Graphite
- Stehender Akt / Standing NudeBy August Wilhelm DresslerLocated in Wien, 9August Dressler is one of the painters of the New Objectivity. He is one of the lesser-known artists of the Weimar era, but he too, like his famous contemporaries Georg Grosz, John H...Category
20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Graphite
- Nude Woman Drying Her HairBy Raymond DebieveLocated in London, GB'Nude Woman Drying Her Hair', crayon and pencil on fine paper (1967), by Raymond Debiève (1931 - 2011). A shapely woman has just finished bathing and is drying her hair in the privac...Category
1960s Modern Nude Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Oil Crayon, Graphite
- Untitled II, Nude drawing on paperLocated in Miami Beach, FLUntitled II, 1984 by Enrique Grau Graphite on paper Signed in the lower right corner. Great condition. Provenance: Private collection. Image size: 12 in H x 9 in W Unframed ____ En...Category
1980s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsArchival Paper, Graphite
- Untitled, Nude drawing on paperLocated in Miami Beach, FLUntitled, 1984 by Enrique Grau Graphite on paper Signed in the lower right corner. Great condition. Provenance: Private collection. Image size: 12 in H x 9 in W Unframed ____ Enriq...Category
1980s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite, Archival Paper
- Untitled III, Nude drawing on paperLocated in Miami Beach, FLUntitled III, 1984 by Enrique Grau Graphite on paper Signed in the top right corner. Great condition. Provenance: Private collection. Image size: 12 in H x 9 in W Unframed ____ Enr...Category
1980s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsArchival Paper, Graphite
- Para Celso, Nude drawing on paperLocated in Miami Beach, FLPara Celso, 1984 by Enrique Grau Graphite on paper Image size: 23 in H x 18 in W Signed in the lower right corner. Great condition with flaws. Provenance: Private collection. Unfram...Category
1980s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite, Archival Paper