Fletcher Benton Art
American, 1931-2019
Born in Jackson, Ohio, in 1931, Fletcher Benton showed an early talent for art. From early childhood, Benton’s mother allowed him to use the family’s basement as an art studio and enrolled him in a local painting course. Benton also undertook an apprenticeship with a sign painter, after which he opened his own sign painting business at the age of fourteen. Though he would later explore different avenues of artistic expression, lettering and sign painting remained a near-constant presence in his artistic practice for the rest of his life.
Following a brief stint in the US Navy, Benton enrolled at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with the intent of pursuing its pre-med program. His interests quickly returned to painting, however, and he completed his degree in fine art in 1956. After graduating Benton relocated to San Francisco, California, where he immersed himself in the city’s vibrant artistic community.
In 1961, at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Benton had his first major solo show, a measure of his rising status as an artist. In 1964, however, a promised show at Gump’s Gallery was abruptly cancelled. This rejection sparked a radical transformation in the artist’s practice, and he began exploring Hard-Edge abstraction with a constructivist bent. Drawing on his knowledge of lettering, Benton debuted a series of kinetic works in a solo show in Los Angeles the next year. The kinetic and abstract elements of his new work led to increased interest from audiences, curators, and critics, and between 1965 and 1967 he participated in numerous high-profile exhibitions nationwide.
While he continued to exhibit, in 1967 Benton began teaching at California State University, San Jose, where he taught until retiring in 1986. In 2003 he received his first of many major public commissions: Steel Watercolor TriangleRing, a 66- foot-high red-painted steel sculpture installed at the Barbarossaplatz interchange train station in Cologne, Germany. Benton continued his work up until his death in 2019 at the age of eighty-eight.
Benton’s contributions to kinetic art and sculpture were recognized in his lifetime through numerous awards, honors, and public commissions. His works are also included in the collections of such prestigious institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, among others.to
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Fletcher Benton Sculpture, "Folded Circle Zig Zag 1994", Bronze, Granite, Signed
By Fletcher Benton
Located in New York, NY
Fletcher Benton Bronze Sculpture, "Folded Circle Zig Zag 1994", Granite, Signed. Medium scale Hard-Edge abstract bronze sculpture by Californian sculptor, Fletcher Benton (1931-2019)...
Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Fletcher Benton Art
Materials
Granite, Bronze
$14,000 Sale Price
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Rare constructivist etching by renowned modernist sculptor, Signed AP, Framed
By Fletcher Benton
Located in New York, NY
Fletcher Benton
Etching on wove paper in artist's frame
Signed by the artist with his printed signature in graphite, signed by the artist with his hand signature also in graphite, nu...
Category
1990s Constructivist Fletcher Benton Art
Materials
Etching
Fletcher Benton Untitled (Straight-Up) Contemporary Welded Steel Sculpture 2004
By Fletcher Benton
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
A contemporary welded steel sculpture Untitled (Straight-Up) by Fletcher Benton. Etched signature on base and dated 2004. An abstract composition with linear and curved lines coming ...
Category
Early 2000s American Modern Fletcher Benton Art
Materials
Steel
Large hardback monograph (inscribed and hand signed twice by Fletcher Benton)
By Fletcher Benton
Located in New York, NY
Fletcher Benton
Large hardback monograph (hand signed twice by Fletcher Benton), 1990
Hardback monograph with cloth boards and dust jacket (hand signed twice and inscribed to Ernie)
...
Category
1990s Constructivist Fletcher Benton Art
Materials
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Board
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Previously Available Items
Geometric Abstract Screenprint by Fletcher Benton
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Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Fletcher Benton, American (1931 - )
Title: Untitled
Year: 1968
Medium: Silkscreen, Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil
Edition: 27/100
Size: 28.5 x 28.5 in. (72.39 x...
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1960s Abstract Geometric Fletcher Benton Art
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Screen
Geometric Abstract Screenprint by Fletcher Benton
By Fletcher Benton
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Fletcher Benton, American (1931 - )
Title: Untitled
Year: 1968
Medium: Silkscreen, Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil
Edition: 93/100
Size: 28.5 x 28.5 in. (72.39 x...
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1960s Abstract Geometric Fletcher Benton Art
Materials
Screen
Geometric Abstract Screenprint by Fletcher Benton
By Fletcher Benton
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Fletcher Benton, American (1931 - )
Title: Untitled
Year: 1968
Medium: Silkscreen, Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil
Edition: 34/100
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Kinetic Brass Ribbon Sculpture Set on a Tall Metal Stand in the style of Jere.
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Fletcher Benton art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Fletcher Benton art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Fletcher Benton in etching and more. Not every interior allows for large Fletcher Benton art, so small editions measuring 19 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Roman Cieslewicz, and Natalia Goncharova. Fletcher Benton art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,800 and tops out at $2,800, while the average work can sell for $2,800.