- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*T-Vim 1984-005", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"21613", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1926-1947", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1926/1947"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Robert Benney original drawings"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"36 linear feet (45 boxes)"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.</span><div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center</span><span class=\"addressline\">40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Robert Benney drawings are black and white sketches in graphite and ink primarily of actors and actresses in costume for New York City theater productions. The drawings also include sketches of entire scenes and portraits of musicians, radio personalities, comedians, dancers and film stars. There are some photocopies in the collection; most duplicate the Library's holdings of originals."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Robert Benney Collection of Original Drawings, *T-Vim 1984-005, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Benney, Robert, 1904-2001", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Robert Benney, illustrator and painter, was born in Romania in 1904. He came to New York as a toddler. He studied art at New York's Cooper Union from 1921 to 1925. While in art school at the age of 19, he opened his own studio. Once the studio opened, New York newspapers and magazines began commissioning Benney for his illustration work.</p> <p>He drew portraits of leading actors and actresses for New York City theater productions. These drawings were printed along side an article about the production in newspapers such as the <span class=\"title\">Herald Tribune</span>, <span class=\"title\">The New York Times</span>, <span class=\"title\">Brooklyn Daily Eagle</span>, the <span class=\"title\">New York World and Telegraph</span>, and other Greater New York newspapers of that era. Beginning in the late 1930s, the large Hollywood movie studios, such as Twentieth-Century Fox and United Artists, began commissioning Benney for his illustration talents.</p> <p>Benney captured theater productions and stage personalities in his drawings in a number of ways. He set appointments with actors or actresses to sketch them during a sitting in their dressing room. He also attended rehearsals and used photographs to sketch his subjects.</p> <p>While earning a living as a commercial artist, Benney continued going to school. After graduating from Cooper Union, he attended the National Academy of Design from 1928 to1932. He also studied under Frank A. Nankivell. Later he educated future artists at the Pratt Institute between 1949 and 1952 and Dutchess County College between 1964 and 1973.</p> <p>Benney is most celebrated for his time as a war artist correspondent in the Pacific during World War II. In 1943, Abbott Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company based out of Illinois, hired Benney to paint the Naval Aviation Department's contributions to the war. In 1944, Abbott brought Benney back to paint the Army Medical Department's work in the South Pacific. While in WWII, Benney produced four series of paintings; Combat Medicine, Naval Aviation, Oil in Warfare, and Amphibious Operations. His depictions were published in 1944, in <span class=\"title\">Our Flying Navy</span>, and in 1945, in <span class=\"title\">Men Without Guns</span>. As a life member of the Society of Illustrators, he volunteered his services in 1954 to the US Air Force to draw their operations in North Africa. He spent two months with the US Marine Corp as a war artist correspondent documenting their work in Danang, Vietnam in 1968.</p> <p>Besides the military and the theater industry, Benney worked as a commercial artist for large corporations such as American Sugar Refining Company, American Tobacco Company, General Foods, Shell Oil, Standard Oil Company and Western Electric. He also worked as a freelance illustrator for advertising agencies. When asked one time how an artist should approach a commercial project, Benney said, \"The question, 'Is it fine art or commercial art?' is of little interest to the director of a large corporation which exists only for selling company products. The primary factors are: \"Does the picture tell the story, does it do it with taste and dignity becoming to the product or industry; and, in the case if institutional advertising, will its art or esthetic content carry over in the public's subconscious mine the good that is so much coveted?'\"</p> <p>His works for the military are housed in permanent collections at such places as the Smithsonian Institution and the US Army, US Navy, US Marine Corp and US Air Force Combat Art Collections. The Museum of the City of New York exhibited Benney's theater drawings as early as 1933. The Library and Museum of the Performing Arts, the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center displayed a collection of Benney's illustrations spanning 1926 to 1942 at the Amsterdam Gallery between May 3, 1978 and June 19, 1978.</p> <p>By the 1950s, Benney operated studios on West 57th Street in New York City, and in Wallkill, New York. Benney belonged to professional organizations such as the Art Students League, Artists and Writers Association and the Society of Illustrators. Robert Benny died in Boston in June of 2001. At his death, his wife of 68 years, Celia, and his daughter, Alma, survived him.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Robert Benney collection of original drawings includes sketches that he did during his career as an illustrator of the stars of stage and screen.</p> <p>The bulk of the material spans 1926 to 1947. The sketches are mostly portraits of actors and actresses in the costumes they wore for New York City theater productions. However, the collection does include sketches depicting entire production scenes, musicians, radio personalities, comedians and dancers. The collection also has a small amount of sketches representing films and film starts of that time period. Additionally, the collection includes photocopies of Robert Benney's original drawings.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Robert Benney original drawings are arranged in three series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21613#c313653'>Series I: 10\" x 20\" Sketches</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1926-1947</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Sketches include mostly original drawings by Benney of actors, actresses, and theater productions. There are only a few photocopies of the original drawings where the original does not exist in the collection given to the library. The majority of the illustrations are matted on stock of 30\" x 20\". Some illustrations have been matted on stock of 10\" x 20\". Only a small amount of unidentified subjects exist among the sketches.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21613#c313710'>Series II: 20\" x 30\" Sketches, 1926-1947</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Sketches include mostly original drawings by Benney of actors, actresses, and theater productions. There are only a few photocopies of the original drawings where the original does not exist in the collection given to the library. The majority of the illustrations are matted on stock of 30\" x 20\". Some illustrations have been matted on stock of 10\" x 20\". Only a small amount of unidentified subjects exist among the sketches.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/21613#c313899'>Series III: Photocopies of Sketches</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1926-1947</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>These are a group of various sized photocopies, which did not get matted but were printed on glossy paper stock. Most in this group mirror the original sketches in sub-series 1 and sub-series 2.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Series I - 10\" X 20\" Sketches <ul class=\"list\"> <li> Sub-series 1 - Star of Stage and Screen</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Productions</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Unidentified</li></ul></li> <li> Series II - 20\" X 30\" Sketches <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Sub-series 1 - Stars of Stage and Screen</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Productions</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Unidentified</li></ul></li> <li>Series III - Photocopies of Sketches</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection was donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division by Dr. Alma Berson, Robert Benney's daughter.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Angela Graven.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photocopying prohibited.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Robert Benney Research Materials - *T-Mss 1984-005</p>"}
- date_start
-
1926
- keydate
-
1926
- date_end
-
1947
- date_inclusive_start
-
1926
- date_inclusive_end
-
1947