Benson, Eugene “Gene”
The Al Held Foundation mourns the death of Eugene “Gene” Benson, an artist and the longtime studio assistant of painter Al Held and later studio manager of the Al Held Foundation. Benson died on December 12, 2023, in Boiceville, New York at age 63.
Born and raised in Connecticut, Benson called the Catskills his home ever since he took a job working in Held's Boiceville painting studio in 1992. A devoted craftsman and talented artist, Benson played a significant role in the creation of Held's paintings, some of which are on permanent display in prominent museums around the country. Benson became the collection manager of the successor Al Held Foundation after Held died in 2005 and participated in the posthumous installation of major public art projects including a 60-foot painting at the Jacksonville Public Library and a 50-foot stained-glass window at the federal courthouse in Orlando.
Born August 19, 1960, Benson was one of four children. A natural facility for drawing emerged in his youth, and after graduating Somers (CT) High School in 1978, he attended Paier College of Art to study illustration. After one year, seeking adventure, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, training in Fort Knox as a tank driver and later deploying in Germany. After two years of service, Benson reenrolled in Paier to intensively study drawing and painting, studying with recent Yale MFA graduates Sarah Schuster and Jeffrey Carr. He earned a diploma in 1985.
To establish himself as a young artist he worked for a machine shop and a construction company several days a week while painting landscapes during his free time. In an interview he recalled devising a practice of driving into the country after work and painting en plein air as the sun set into the darkness to surprise himself with the unseen results. The course of Benson's life altered one weekend in 1990, when he first visited Held's studio where the friend of a friend worked. Benson immediately fell for Held's huge palette of acrylic paints lining the wall and submitted his name for the next open position. The call came two years later.
Benson continued to maintain his personal art practice and his oil paintings grew increasingly abstracted and structured through his fascination with the modernism of Arthur Dove. He exhibited to critical acclaim in numerous group shows in galleries and museums in Connecticut, the Hudson Valley, and New York City, and had a solo exhibition of his colorful landscapes at Imogen Holloway Gallery, Saugerties, New York. New York Times critic Vivien Raynor praised Benson's “richly painted view of a village street” displayed at the Stamford Museum in 1989. In the Poughkeepsie Journal, Linda Marston-reid singled out his work in a group show at the Holloway Gallery in 2014: “Tremper Mountain may be small in size, but the presence of color and shapes is monumental, like the surrounding mountains.”
In recent years, as the Al Held Foundation expanded its public and educational programs, Benson assisted with the presentation of a range of contemporary artists and students installing artwork on the property. He has also led hands-on workshops for students and artists, teaching the techniques of “painting with tape” employed by the Held studio. Standing six foot nine, he wowed onlookers with his graceful wingspan bending and guiding tape into the signature curves and geometric shapes found in Held's paintings. Benson's exquisite touch and aesthetic sensibility enriched the property and visitor experience.
Gene is survived by two sisters, Regina Skinner of Somers, CT and Norma Benson Lussier of Somers, CT and brother-in-law, Karl Fleck of Somers, CT as well as nieces and nephews, Luke Lussier, Bethany Dillen, Erich Fleck, Hillary Skinner and Garrett Skinner. He also leaves leaves a dear friend, Mara Held. He was predeceased by his parents, Eugene A. and Hildegarde (Thoben) Benson as well as his sister, Roberta (Benson) Fleck.
Eugene's family will receive family and friends on Thursday, December 28, 2023 from 3-5 pm at Somers Funeral Home, 354 Main Street, Somers, CT. Burial will be at the convenience of the family. For online condolences, please visit www.somersfuneralhome.com
Please sign guestbook at courant.com/obituaries