Splitting her time between Hawaii and California, Carol Bennett (b. 1954) has mastered the art of capturing movement in her enigmatic paintings.
While Bennett has garnered praise for the meditative sensibility that characterizes her paintings as well as a bold use of bright colors, some of her works are more famous than others. In fact, her “Women in Water” series is perhaps her most well-known collection. As its name implies, the series features women swimming. They’re captured from an underwater perspective, and their faces are either out of frame entirely or obscured by the sun-dappled surface of the water, which serves as a showcase for Bennett’s portrayal of the qualities of sunlight. The upper half of each painting is flecked with the blues and greens of the ocean as well as whatever color the subject’s bathing suit happens to be.
The series originated with Bennett sketching swimmers at an athletic club’s pool in Los Angeles, but as her process evolved, her husband, Wayne Zebzda, began to film the artist on her daily swim on Kauai. The resultant images inform her work, but she doesn’t consider these works to be depictions of her in particular.
“I swim seven days a week, and while I don’t consider them self-portraits, I am the swimmer in the paintings,” Bennett has said.
Given her constant proximity to the ocean, it’s no surprise that Bennett is inspired by water’s glassy properties, citing its presence as both “a mirror and then a window.” Her radiant paintings, whether she’s working with oil and shellac on paper or wood panels, allow her to explore sunlight in such a rich and provocative way that it’s as if she endeavors to suspend rays of light above the water’s surface, making them seem as tangible and physical as the swimmers themselves.
Aside from her works that hang on the walls of galleries and museums around the world, Bennett has also painted murals and even a 48-foot photovoltaic solar canopy for the Hawaii State Art Museum Sculpture Garden.
Find Carol Bennett’s paintings on 1stDibs.
Female Figure Underwater Realist Etching --"Separation" by Carol Bennett
By Carol Bennett
Located in Soquel, CA
Female Figure Underwater Realist Etching --"Separation" by Carol Bennett Unique etching of a female figure submersed beneath the surface of water by California and Hawaii artist Ca...
Etching, Laid Paper
$100
H 31 in W 28 in
The Critic Collotype Print, American Impressionist, 1970s, Unframed
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Collotype in colors on paper. Unsigned. Title and copyright info in typeset lower margin. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered.
Paper
$100
H 30 in W 24 in
Triple Self-Portrait Lithograph Print, American Impressionist, 1972
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Collotype in colors on paper. Unsigned. Published in 1972. Copyright info in typeset lower margin. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered.
Paper, Lithograph
$100
H 26 in W 20 in
Tom Sawyer Lemme See Him, Huck. My, He'S Pretty Stiff, Collotype on Paper
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Collotype in colors on paper. Unsigned. Title and copyright info in typeset lower margin. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered.
Paper
$100
H 28 in W 22 in
The Texan Collotype Print, American Impressionist, Unsigned, 1970s
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Collotype in colors on paper. Unsigned. Title and copyright info in typeset lower margin. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered.
Paper
$2,030
H 30 in W 26 in D 1 in
Then for Three Minutes, or Maybe Four, Lithograph Print, Hand Signed, 1972
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Image size approx 17.25 x 13.25 inches. Frame size approx 30 x 26 inches. From the edition of 200. Artwork is in excellent condition. Cert...
Paper, Lithograph
$1,960
H 33 in W 27 in D 1 in
Fido's House, Hand Signed Lithograph, American Impressionist, 1970s
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Lithograph on paper from the American Family Folio. Hand signed lower right by Norman Rockwell. Hand numbered 73/200 lower left. Image size: 26 x 20 inches. Frame size: 33 x 27 i...
Paper, Lithograph
$2,065
H 28 in W 24 in D 1 in
Medicine (Sepia) Lithograph Print, American Impressionist, Signed AP Edition
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed and numbered by the artist. From Tom Sawyer Portfolio. Sheet size 25.5 x 19.5 inches. Image size approx 17 x 13 inches. Frame size approx 28 x 24 inches. AP edition. ...
Paper, Lithograph
$2,065
H 30 in W 26 in D 1 in
Out the Window (Sepia) Lithograph, Hand Signed, American Impressionist, 1976
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed and numbered by the artist. From Tom Sawyer Portfolio. Sheet size 25.5 x 19.5 inches. Image size approx 17 x 13 inches. Frame size approx 30 x 26 inches. From the editi...
Paper, Lithograph
Saturday People, American Impressionist Collotype Print, Unframed
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Collotype in colors on paper. Unsigned. Title and copyright info in typeset lower margin. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered.
Paper
$2,065
H 32 in W 26 in D 1 in
The Gift Hand Signed Lithograph, American Impressionist, Framed, 1970s
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Aventura, FL
Lithograph in colors on paper. Hand signed lower right margin by Norman Rockwell. Hand numbered AP lower left margin (there is also a main edition of 200). Image size: 23 x 17 inc...
Paper, Lithograph
Union - Whom --- Has Join'd, Let No Man put Asunder!
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and engraving with hand coloring in watercolor on cream laid paper. 6 3/4 X 9 5/8 inches (170 x 244 mm), margins trimmed, image intact. Rubbing in the lower left image area obscuring the publishing information (which reads Published by Mm. Darchery, St. James Street March 11, 1783), scattered light foxing, corner loss, top left corner, well outside of image area. "SMP" collector's stamp in red ink on the verso (not in Lugt), and the name "Renier" and the initials "AR" in black ink on the verso. Colors are extremely fresh. Impressions of this work may be found in the permanent collection of the British Museum, and the Yale Center for British Art. Ex-Collection of Anne & Ferdinand Gabriel (F.G.) Renier, reknowned for their inspriational collection of children's books and works on paper, now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum. _____ The devil officiates at the wedding of Tory Lord North, and Charles James Fox, the Whig statesman whose career spanned almost four decades in Parliament. The satirical scene is the signing of the Fox-North coalition, which was a short-lived partnership the two formed while combining forces in the House of Commons to oust then Prime Minister William Petty, Earl of Shelburne. Fox had fallen out of favor with the Irish born Shelburne, also a Whig, whose ministry remained in power just long enough to see the American War of Independence...
Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
$1,245
H 14 in W 18 in D 0.1 in
"Mother and Child" A Signed Limited Edition Etching by John E. Costigan
By John Costigan
Located in New York, NY
This original, limited edition etching, was realized by the esteemed American artist John E. Costigan, circa 1930. He is represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, th...
Etching