BEN ALBERT BENSON
(1901 - 1986)

Ben Albert Benson was born in Sweden and moved to the United States at an early age. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and is today most widely known for his original wood engravings. The majority of Benson's wood engraved art was created during the 1930's, the great era of American Art Deco. The medium of wood engraving was often favored by Art Deco artists for its bold contrasts of light and dark and for its strength of line.

Although considered a leading Art Deco wood engraver, Benson's work also contains strong elements of Expressionism and Abstraction, setting his art apart from other Americans. His works are brilliant examples of pure form and line created by the artist's bold point of view. For the most part, Benson's wood engravings are very small in size, but demand a great amount of study.