Frank Weston Benson

Frank Benson taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and gave occasional studio critiques at RISD. That work and income from private commissions permitted him to acquire vacation property on North Haven Island, Maine, where he photographed and made sketches of his daughters and their friends in preparation for this painting of a perfect summer day. Benson used these studies to capture poses, then referenced and combined them as he created the finished work in his studio. His models present an optimistic view of contemporary young womanhood—relaxed, confident, and looking to the future.

Benson’s Summer is incomplete without its frame, impeccably crafted by the Boston firm Foster Brothers to complement the painting. I am attracted to this frame for its brilliant luminosity. To achieve such a dazzling surface, tissue-thin sheets of gold leaf were carefully laid over wood that had been carved, sanded, sealed with rabbit-skin glue, and painted with gesso and reddish clay before it was sized with adhesive. Even today this surface glows, as gold leaf retains its luster indefinitely. Festooned with a chainwork of fruit, foliage, and flowers, the frame also redoubles the painting’s inherent theme of fertility.

Isabella McCormick, RISD (Painting) / Brown BA student, 2015