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Frank Weston Benson

Autumn, 1895

Description

Maker

  • Frank Weston Benson, 1862-1951, American

Title

Autumn

Year

1895

Medium

Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • oil paint

Supports

  • canvas

Dimensions

76.2 x 63.5 cm (30 x 25 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Unsigned

Type

  • Paintings

Credit

Gift of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

97.002A

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Joseph Lindon Smith and His Circle in Dublin, New Hampshire

October 14, 1998 - March 3, 1999

These are preliminary studies for the murals that Benson painted in the Library of Congress in 1897. The final works, allegorical representations of the four seasons, are framed within elaborately sculpted roundels on the vault spanning the south corridor. The construction and embellishment of the library coincided with America's growing interest in mural paintings for both public and private buildings. In the same year that Benson painted Autumn and Spring, both Joseph Lindon Smith and John Singer Sargent were awarded commissions to paint murals in the Boston Public Library. The balanced compositions of Autumn and Spring reveal Benson's academic training. The graceful, mannered poses of the figures, the diaphanous drapery, and their placement close to the picture plane evoke the work of the Pre-Raphaelite artists in England. Benson's refined use of color and texture also anticipates the late 19th to early 20th century Art Nouveau style as practiced in America. The allegorical figures Autumn and Spring achieve an intimacy similar to that of the many portraits Benson painted of his family in Dublin.

After Eden

April 26 - December 29, 1996

From the Reserve IV

July 22 - October 2, 1994

Romanticism and Revival

December 4, 1992 - June 26, 1993

Following the Light

September 20 - November 10, 1991

Days Gone By

July 1 - September 26, 1971

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Autumn with the accession number of 97.002A. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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