The Sisters

In The Sisters Frank Weston Benson portrays his two younger daughters as if unposed in full summer sunshine on a grassy shore overlooking the ocean at Newcastle, New Hampshire. Her sunbonnet discarded in the foreground, toddler Sylvia stands balancing with her arms outstretched while glancing at the viewer, evidently triumphant in her newly acquired ability to walk independently. Her six-year-old sister Elisabeth, seated, turns to look toward her protectively. Using distinct, rapidly applied strokes of bright color, Benson emphasizes the glowing effects of the strong sunlight glancing on the girls’ clothing and skin, on grass, and on the glittering calm sea beyond. The swing of the standing figure’s dress and billowing back ribbon and the movement of the girls’ hair and the long grass suggest a lively breeze animating the scene.

Benson’s attention in this painting to fresh atmosphere, flooding sunshine, and spontaneity demonstrates his recent embrace of the strategies of impressionism, the portrayal of everyday modern subjects with an emphasis on the bright color and light of outdoor settings captured on-site. Always principally a painter of light effects, Benson had launched his career with a series of images of women and children in interiors, illuminated by firelight or subdued light from windows. In 1897, he helped found the group Ten American Painters, or The Ten, an independent organization dedicated to exhibiting the works of American impressionist painters. At about this time, with such works as The Sisters, the artist shifted to outdoor settings. The Sisters was the first in a series of works Benson painted showing his wife and three daughters outdoors in full sunlight during the family’s summer stays on the New England coast. The use of family members as models in open-air scenes was typical for American impressionist painters such as Benson’s close colleague Edmund Tarbell, whose In the Orchard (TF 1999.141), also in the Terra Foundation’s collection, portrays his own family.

The Sisters was Benson’s single most critically successful painting. Within a few years it had won four prestigious medals, and the artist astutely circulated it to exhibitions for two decades. Benson followed this work with many other outdoor family scenes, which became his hallmark. The artist’s three daughters grew up posing for their father, whose paintings trace their development from the small children pictured here into graceful young women, embodiments of early twentieth-century American ideals of wholesome beauty. Benson’s paintings of his daughters were intended not as portraits but as generic images with more universal themes appealingly clothed in everyday experience. In The Sisters, brilliant sunlight and fresh breezes seem an extension of the children themselves, poised joyfully at the start of lives that promise unclouded happiness and fulfillment. At a time when the United States was experiencing the turmoil of rapid urbanization, mass immigration, and labor unrest, such cheerful works as The Sisters struck the well-to-do American art public as an optimistic metaphor for the nation’s future.

The Carnegie International, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 1899 [awarded Silver Medal].

Exposition Universelle, Paris, France, 1900 [awarded Silver Medal].

Benson Retrospective, St. Botolph Club, Boston, Massachusetts, January 11–29, 1900, no. 16.

Annual Show of The Ten, Galerie Durand-Ruel, New York, New York, 1901.

Pan American Exposition, Buffalo, New York, May 1–November 2, 1901 [awarded Silver Medal].

Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904 [awarded Gold Medal].

Inaugural Exhibition, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, January 17–February 12, 1912, no. 10.

Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists: 1907–1921, Gallery II, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Buffalo, New York, July 1913–March 1915.

Exhibition of Paintings from the Albright Art Gallery and a Collection of Recent Work by British Artists, Detroit Museum of Art, Detroit, Michigan, January 1916.

11th Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, May–September 1917.

Notable American Artists, Hillyer Art Gallery (now Smith College Museum of Art), Northampton, Massachusetts, October 1918.

Paintings and Drawings of Frank W. Benson, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1921.

Exhibition, Dallas Art Association, Dallas, Texas, October–December 1922.

Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 1922–December 1923.

Paintings, Water Colors and Etchings by Frank W. Benson, [possibly] Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venue: Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio, February 22–March 23, 1924, no. 10. [exh. cat.]

The Canadian Society of Graphic Art 2nd Annual Exhibition and A Collection of American Paintings, The Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February 7–March 2,  1925, no. 1. [exh. cat.]

Exhibition, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California; San Diego Gallery, San Diego, California, October 1926.

Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January-March 1935.

Special Exhibition, Dulin Gallery, Knoxville, Tennessee, September–December 1962.

Realism: An American Heritage, IBM Gallery, New York, New York, January 14–February 1, 1963, no. 3.

Exhibition, PTA, Chappaqua, New York, April 1963.

Portraits from the IBM Collection, IBM Gallery, New York, New York, June–July 1963.

Exhibition, Mobile Arts Council, Merchants National Bank, Mobile, Alabama, November–December 1963.

Selections from the IBM Art Collection, IBM Gallery, New York, New York (organizer). Venue: IBM Gallery, New York, New York, August 1964.

Twenty American Portraits, IBM Gallery, New York, New York (organizer). Venue: IBM Gallery, New York, New York, July 1967–January 1969, no. 19. 

American Impressionist Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (organizer). Venues: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., July 1–August 26, 1973; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, September 18–November 2, 1973; Cincinnati Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio, December 15, 1973–January 31, 1974; The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina, March 8–April 29, 1974. [exh. cat.]

Portraits by Americans: Eighteen Portraits from the IBM Collection, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California, December 1976–January 1979.

American Impressionism, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (organizer). Venues: Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, January 3–March 2, 1980; The Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California at Los Angeles, California, March 9–May 4, 1980; Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, May 16–June 22, 1980; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts, July 1–August 31, 1980. [exh. cat.]

American Images: Selections from the IBM Collection, IBM Gallery of Science and Art, New York, New York, June–July 1984.

Selected Works from the IBM Collection, IBM Gallery of Science and Art, November 1985–January 1986.

Artistic Transitions: From the Academy to Impressionism in American Art, Cummer Art Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida, October 1986–January 1987. [exh. cat.]

Fifty Years of Collecting: Art at IBM, IBM Gallery of Science and Art, New York, New York, September-November 1989.

Ten American Painters, Spanierman Gallery, New York, New York, May 8–June 9, 1990. [exh. cat.]

American Impressionism: Masterworks from Public and Private Collections in the United States, Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation, Lugano-Castagnola, Switzerland (organizer). Venue: Villa Favorita, Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation, Lugano-Castagnola, Switzerland, July 22–October 28, 1990. [exh. cat.]

Portraits from the IBM Collection, IBM Gallery of Science and Art, New York, New York, March–June 1994.

Domestic Bliss: Family Life in America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–June 22, 1997.

Artistic Independence in 1898: The Ten American Painters, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 4–July 21, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.

Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]

The Golden Age of Impressionism, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, New York (organizer). Venue: Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, New York, November 22, 2003–February 1, 2004. [exh. cat.]

Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]

Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940 (Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France and Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury (International Cultural Center), Crakow, Poland (organizers). Venue: International Cultural Center, Crakow, Poland, February 15–May 7, 2006. [exh. cat.]

Le Temps des loisirs : peintures américaines (At Leisure: American Paintings), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, July 15–October 31, 2007.

Le Temps des loisirs : peintures américaines (At Leisure: American Paintings), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2008.

Americans in Florence: Sargent and the American Impressionists, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi (organizer). Venue: Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy, March 2–July 15, 2012. [exh. cat]

American Impressionism: a New Vision, 1880–1900 (L'Impressionnisme et les Américains/ Impresionismo Americano (French & Spanish titles), Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny, France and the Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (organizers). Venues: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny, France, March 28–June 29, 2014; Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, July 19–October 19, 2014; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain, November 4, 2014–February 1, 2015. [exh. cat.]

Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France, Denver Museum of Fine Arts, Denver (organizer); Venues: Denver Art Museum, November 14, 2021 - March 13, 2022; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, April 16 - July 31, 2022. [exh. cat.]

     

"Mr. Benson's Exhibition at the St. Botolph Club." Boston Evening Transcript (January 13, 1900): 15. Text p. 15.

Downes, William Howe. "Frank W. Benson and His Work." Brush and Pencil 6:4 (July 1900): 145-57. Text pp.154–55.

"Art Notes." Mail and Express (March 19, 1901): 5. Text p. 5.

"The Art World." Commercial Advertiser (March 19, 1901): 6. Text p. 6.

New York Times (March 19, 1901).

"Around the Galleries." Sun (March 20, 1901): 6. Text p. 6.

B. F. "Pictures of 'The Ten.'" Evening Post (March 20, 1901): 4. Text p. 4.

[Cortissoz, Royal]. "Art Exhibition." New York Daily Tribune (March 21, 1901): 6. Text p. 6.

"The Fine Arts," Boston Evening Transcript (March 21, 1901): 10. Text p. 10.

"The Ten Landscape Painters." Art Interchange 46 (May 1901): 106. Text p. 106.

Academy Notes. The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy (September 1905): 61. Ill. p. 61.

Smith, Minna C. "The Work of Frank W. Benson." International Studio 35 (October 1908): 104.

Catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition. (exh. cat., Toledo Museum of Art). Toledo, Ohio: Toledo Museum of Art, 1912. Text p. 154, no. 10, p. 6.

Paff, Adam E. M. Etchings and Drypoints by Frank W. Benson. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917.

"American Art." Smith College Weekly (October 30, 1918): 5. Text p. 5.

Paintings, Water Colors and Etchings by Frank W. Benson. (exh. cat., Akron Art Institute). Akron, Ohio: Akron Art Institute, 1924. No. 10, p. 5.

The Canadian Society of Graphic Art 2nd Annual Exhibition & A Collection of American Paintings. (exh. cat., The Art Gallery of Toronto). Toronto, Canada: The Art Gallery of Toronto, 1925. No. 1, p. 5.

Domit, Moussa M. American Impressionist Painting. (exh. cat., National Gallery of Art). Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1973. Ill. no. 3, p. 56 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. American Impressionism. (exh. cat., Henry Art Gallery). Seattle, Washington: Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, 1980. Text p. 129 (checklist); ill. p. 92 (black & white).

Artistic Transitions: From the Academy to Impressionism in American Art. (exh. cat., Cummer Art Gallery). Jacksonville, Florida: Cummer Art Gallery, 1986. Ill. no. 2, p. 19.

Wilmerding, John, Sheila Dugan and William H. Gerdts. Frank W. Benson: The Impressionist Years. (exh. cat., Spanierman Gallery). New York: Spanierman Gallery, 1988. Text pp. 41–43; ill. p. 28 (color detail), fig. 9, p. 41 (black & white).

Bedford, Faith Andrews, Susan C. Faxon and Bruce W. Chambers. Frank W. Benson: A Retrospective. (exh. cat., Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc.). New York: Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., 1989. Text pp. 49, 148, 190; fig. 48, p. 48 (black & white).

Gerdts, William. American Impressionism: Masterworks from Public and Private Collections in the United States. (exh. cat., Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation, Lugano-Castagnola, Switzerland). Einsiedeln, Switzerland: Eidolon/Benziger, 1990. Text p. 120; ill. p. 121 (color).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Ten American Painters. (exh. cat., Spanierman Gallery). New York: Spanierman Gallery, 1990. Text pp. 141, 143; cat. 1, p. 140 (color).

Bedford, Faith Andrews. Frank W. Benson: American Impressionist. New York: Rizzoli International, 1994. Text pp. 10, 79, 82, 86, 91, 94, 98, 148, 201; pl. 48, p. 84 (color).

Sotheby's, New York, New York (Sale 6713, May 25, 1995): lot 26. Text lot 26; ill. lot 26 (color).

The Art of Frank W. Benson: American Impressionist. (exh. cat., Peabody Essex Museum). Salem, Massachusetts: Peabody Essex Museum, 1999. Text pp. 62-63; fig. 29, p. 63 (color).

Fischer, Diane P., ed. Paris 1900: The "American School" at the Universal Exposition. (exh. cat., Montclair Art Museum). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1999. Text p. 56; fig. 64, p. 58 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. American Impressionism. Second edition. New York: Abbeville Press, 2001. Text pp. 214, 216; pl. 252, p. 212 (color).

Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 21; ill. p. 20 (color).

Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 21; ill. p. 20 (color).

Gerdts, William H. The Golden Age of Impressionism. (exh. cat., Heckscher Museum of Art). New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003. Text p. 92; pl. 42, p. 93 (color).

Budick, Ariella. "Sunshine and Ladies." Newsday (November 21, 2003): B10, B21. Ill. cover.

May, Stephen. "The Golden Age of American Impressionism." Antiques and the Arts Weekly (December 12, 2003): 1, 40–41. Text p. 40.

Harrison, Helen A. "American Scenes, Filled with Light." The New York Times (December 28, 2003): 12. Ill. p. 12.

Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 16, 30 (checklist); fig. 4, p. 16 (color).

Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 16, 30 (checklist); fig. 4, p. 16 (color).

Lévy, Sophie, et al. Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940/Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940.  (exh. cat. International Cultural Center). Cracow, Poland: International Cultural Center, 2006. Text p. 94; ill. p. 95 (color).

Bardazzi, Francesca and Carlo Sisi, editors. Americans in Florence: Sargent and the American Impressionists. (exh. cat. Fondazione Plazzo Strozzi). Venice, Italy: Marsilio, 2012. Text, cat. no. 101, p. 233–34, ill. cat. no 101, p. 223 (color).

Bedford, Faith Andrews. Impressionist Summers: Frank W. Benson's North Haven. (exh. cat. Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine). Rockland: Farnsworth Art Museum and New York: Skira Rizzoli Publications. Text, pp. 17, 20; ill. fig. 9, p. 19 (color).

Homann, Joachim, Trevor J. Fairbrother, Nancy Mowill Mathews, Joseph J. Rishel and Richard J. Wattenmaker. Maurice Prendergast: By the Sea. (exh. cat., Bowdoin College Museum of Art). Brunswick, Maine: Bowdoin College Museum of Art and DelMonico Books, an imprint of Prestel Publishing, Munich, London and New York, 2013. Text p. 20; fig. 8, p. 21 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. American Impressionism: A New Vision 1880–1900. (exh. cat., Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, National Galleries of Scotland, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza). Giverny, France: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, 2014. (English, French and Spanish versions). Ill. p. 118 (color).

 Standring, Timothy J., ed. Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France. (exh. cat., Denver Art Museum). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2021. Ill. p. 212 (color).