Newport Art Museum to honor Benson family at Beaux Arts Ball

NEWPORT – The Newport Art Museum has chosen to honor the decades-long generosity and artistic talent of the Benson family at its Beaux Arts Ball July 2.

Members of the family who will be highlighted at the gala include master stone carvers John and Nicholas Benson; noted artists Richard Benson, Christopher Benson, Oliver Benson and Samuel Benson; and the late artistic craftsmen Thomas Benson and John Howard Benson, as well as the matriarch of the family, Esther Fisher Benson.

Works by members of the Benson family adorn the John F. Kennedy Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as locally at The Redwood Library and Athenaeum and Queen Anne Square in Newport.

John Benson said of the honor bestowed upon his family by the museum: “The Newport Art Museum continues to expose people to the simplicity and clarity of authentic artistic pursuits. The rewards of giving yourself to life in the arts are huge. There is the satisfaction of knowing that your heart and soul go into creating physical objects that others can appreciate beyond your own lifetime.”

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He added: “We are ordinary people. We share a passion for recognizing well-made objects. Our family shared a confluence of genetic and behavioral influences, which bred in us a love of the artistic life. It is a story about a family’s sensitivity to art and a community’s support. In truth it is a story of good luck and hard work.”

Norah Diedrich, the museum’s executive director, said that for the museum’s century plus-long history its focus has been “to provide a welcoming and engaging place in which to make, exhibit and discuss art.”

She added: “At this summer’s Beaux Arts Ball we will celebrate a family who epitomizes the creative spirit embraced and cultivated at the museum – the Benson family of artists. They have been an important part of the fabric of our museum and our creative community, and it is a great honor to celebrate their many accomplishments.”

The 2016 Beaux Arts Ball is organized by co-chairs Kristen Coates, Elizabeth Ann Kahane and Molly de Ramel. Guests will gather under a tent for dinner, drinks and a silent auction, with music by the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra. The festive event will be held on the grounds of the Newport Art Museum located at 76 Bellevue Ave. in Newport, Rhode Island.

Proceeds will support the museum’s extensive arts programming and community outreach.

A reservation form can be downloaded at www.newportartmuseum.org/Content/Files/Public/2016_Beaux_Arts_Ball_Early_Res_Form.pdf.

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