Stone Carving by John Howard Benson
Courtesy of The John Stevens Shop, Newport

With an exhibition on view in the Fall of '96, Redwood celebrated Newport's premier family of artist craftsmen, the family of John Howard Benson. The exhibition presented examples of the exceptional stonecutting, lettering, and graphic design produced at The John Stevens Shop by John Howard Benson, his son John, and the latter's son Nicholas; photography by John Howard Benson's son Richard; as well as paintings by Christopher, brother of Nicholas.

Founded in 1705, The John Stevens Shop was purchased by John Howard Benson in 1927, following the death of the third and last John Stevens, who taught John Howard Benson his craft. Benson, who was trained in watercolor and printmaking, brought stonecutting to a new level of originality and artistry. Recognized throughout the country, he received many awards, among them the American Institute of Architects' Craftsmanship Medal for Excellence in Calligraphy and an Honorary Master of Arts degree from Yale University. His works are represented in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cooper Union, the Harvard Club, and the Yale Club, to name but a few. After his untimely death in 1956, his wife, Esther Fisher Benson, carried on the work of The John Stevens Shop for many years.

Benson's son John, who studied sculpture before joining The John Stevens Shop, is himself a nationally respected stonecutter. His commissions include both the John and Robert Kennedy memorials in Arlington Cemetery and work on the facades of Boston City Hall and the Boston Public Library. He is presently working on the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. His brother Richard, an internationally acclaimed photographer, whose work is in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, has just been appointed Dean of the School of Art at Yale University.

Nicholas, John's son, is the current proprietor of The John Stevens Shop, thus carrying on the family tradition as a master stonecutter into its third generation. Christopher, Nicholas' brother, is a landscape and portrait artist living on the West Coast. His paintings have been shown in numerous exhibitions to great acclaim, and most recently he was commissioned to paint a portrait of the president of Stanford University.

This highly talented and respected Newport family has long been associated with Redwood. In front of the Library building, on the Bellevue Avenue side, is a stone cut by John Howard Benson in memory of Henry Collins, who in 1748 donated the land on which Redwood stands. In 1992 Esther Fisher Benson retired from the Library's Board of Directors, on which she had actively served for more than three decades. Last, but by no means least, Nicholas Benson served as curator of the current exhibition, one which not only recognizes the immense contributions of the Benson Family to the heritage of Newport, but also permits us to admire the breadth of their accomplishments.