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Tressa Benson“Daguerreotype Dandies" c. 1937 by Tressa Benson Regionalist American Maine OilCirca 1937
Circa 1937
About the Item
About this work:
“Daguerreotype Dandies" c. 1937 by Tressa Benson (American, 1896-1987).
Painted with the charm of a rediscovered family photo, this wonderfully eccentric work by Benson presents three young men in period dress seated shoulder to shoulder, each possessed with the grave self-command familiar in early photography. Benson turns the stiffness of the daguerreotype pose into something theatrical and alive. Their whiskers, polished collars, colored waistcoats, and carefully arranged hands announce them as gentlemen of consequence, but there is also a sly modern wit in the composition. Benson gives each man a distinct temperament: the romantic brooder at left, the frank and steady sitter at center, and the self-contained figure at right, whose composed gaze suggests he knows exactly how impressive he looks.
The men sit against a beautiful Maine village, which is unidentified, but aligns quite closely with the coastal charm of Bucksport - Benson’s birthplace. Benson’s handling of the paint is vigorous and expressive, with saturated greens, russets, blues, and smoky grays giving the canvas an almost stormy atmosphere.
This work was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1937, where it was awarded the Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Armstrong Prize.
The work is oil on canvas and is signed in the lower right. It is housed in a wood frame with gilt liner and retains labels from Sotheby’s on the reverse.
Size:
36 inches tall by 44 inches wide (painting)
40.25 inches tall by 48 inches wide by 2 inches deep (frame)
Provenance:
Sotheby’s, New York, April 14, 1989, lot 182;
Private collection, CT;
Acquired from the above
Exhibited:
Art Institute of Chicago, 1937 (Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Armstrong Prize)
About the artist:
Tressa Pond Emerson Benson was born in Bucksport, Maine, in 1896, studied at Sweet Briar College and Syracuse University, and continued her training with Charles Hawthorne before receiving a 1923 fellowship to study in Paris at the Académie Colarossi and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Widely known and respected for many years as a painter and instructor, Tressa Benson became specifically revered for landscapes, still lifes, figure studies, city scenes and portraits in a modernist style.
In 1931, Benson settled in a 1923 Craftsman bungalow at 4132 Highland Avenue in Downers Grove, Illinois, where she would spend much of her career painting and teaching. Active in the Chicago Society of Artists, she exhibited with the group in 1931 and showed annually at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1931 to 1938, including in the Institute’s A Century of Progress exhibition of 1933–34, held in connection with the Chicago World’s Fair. She was represented by Mandel Brothers Art Gallery in Chicago, where she had a solo exhibition in 1941.
That same year, Benson organized a group exhibition of local artists in Downers Grove and went on to found the Downers Grove Artists’ Guild. She taught private lessons from her studio from 1940 to 1968, served as Art Director at the progressive Avery Coonley School from 1946 to 1948, and taught adult education at Downers Grove High School from 1950 to 1952. In 1957, she was honored with a solo exhibition at the Downers Grove Public Library.
Today, her work can be found in important private and institutional collections around the country.
Condition: Good overall condition. Recently professionally cleaned. Wax relined. Stable surface craquelure throughout. Scattered spots of inpainting. Frame with wear commensurate with age and handling. It is ready to be displayed and enjoyed!
- Creator:Tressa Benson (1896 - 1987, American)
- Creation Year:Circa 1937
- Dimensions:Height: 40.25 in (102.24 cm)Width: 48 in (121.92 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Good overall condition. Recently professionally cleaned. Wax relined. Stable surface craquelure throughout. Scattered spots of inpainting. Frame with wear commensurate with age and handling. It is ready to be displayed and enjoyed!
- Gallery Location:Yardley, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2911218071152
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