Charles Bensco (1894-1960) -California Barn - Oil on Canvas 1930s P3409
A wonderfully simple yet subtle painting in an unexpected toal treatment. Really masterly.
Art measures 15 1/2" x 19 1/2", frame is 20 3/4" x 24 3/4".
Charles J. Bensco was born on Feb. 19, 1894 in Turchok, Hungary. At age seven Bensco came with his parents to NYC. When a teenager he returned to Budapest to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and, upon returning to NYC, continued his training at the ASL under Blumenschein and Bridgman.
After serving in WWI, he continued his art career in NYC as a muralist and portraitist. In the early 1930s Bensco moved to Los Angeles and established a studio where he painted portraits of members of the movie colony and other celebrities. In 1945 he moved to Phoenix, AZ and lived there until his death on Nov. 4, 1960. In Arizona he turned his attention to the local landscape and Indians.
Exh: Eagle Rock Artists, 1929-32; Magyar Artists (LA), 1933; Woman's Club (Hollywood), 1935; LA AA, 1936; Stanford Art Gallery (Palo Alto), 1936; Ebell Club (LA), 1937 (prize); Friday Morning Club (LA), 1939; Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939-40; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1944; Society for Sanity in Art, 1940s; Calif. Art Club, 1932-55; Artists of the SW, 1950s; Little Theater (Phoenix), 1959.
Works Held: Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Downey, CA); Gardena (CA) High School; First Federal Savings (Phoenix).
Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Southern California Artists 1890-1940; Who's Who in American Art 1936-59; Artists of the American West (Doris Dawdy); Arizona Republic, 11-5-1960 (obit).
