George Courtney Benson (1886–1960) was an Australian painter, muralist and cartoonist, and an official war artist during World War I.[2]
George Courtney Benson | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant George Courtney Benson in military uniform | |
| Born | George Courteney[1] Benson 1886 Collingwood, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 1960 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | National Gallery of Victoria Art School |
| Known for | painter, cartoonist, muralist, art critic |
| Website | George Courtney Benson DAAO |
Biography
editGeorge Courtney Benson was born in Collingwood, Melbourne in 1886 to Richard and Mary (née Murdoch) Benson.[1]
He studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School from 1903.[2]
Benson enlisted in the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade of the Australian Imperial Force in September 1914 and saw active duty in the Mediterranean.[3] He took sketches of the landscape prior to the allied invasion at Gallipoli.[4]
Benson was commissioned as an Australian official war artists in April 1918, and after the end of the war worked at the Australian War Records Section in London.[3][5]
A scrapbook of 140 sketches drawn by Benson during his time in the First World War are now held by the Australian War Memorial.[6]
He designed the commemorative vignette for the first airmail envelopes carried from England to Australia by Keith and Ross Smith in 1919.[7]
In 1931, Benson was commissioned by the University of Western Australia to paint the ceiling beams of Winthrop Hall.[2] He carried out further mural commissions in Perth, while also working as a critic and cartoonist for The West Australian newspaper.[2]
Benson applied for a second commission with the Australian War Memorial at the beginning of the Second World War, but was declined due to his age (he was in his 50s at the time).[3] Benson instead enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces and worked as a camouflage officer until 1943.[3]
Benson was a long-standing member of the Melbourne Savage Club from 1913 to 1936.[8]
Collections
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Benson, George Courteney". Victorian BDM. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Kerr, Joan. "George Courtney Benson". DAAO.
- ^ a b c d e "Lieutenant George Courtney Benson". Australian War Memorial.
- ^ "George Courtney Benson: an assiduous artist". Australian War Memorial.
- ^ 'Camofleur', "Musketeers of Brush and Pencil with the A.I.F.: Art Under Fire: The Battlefield as Studio", The (Melbourne) Herald, (1 February 1919), p. 4.
- ^ "George Benson Scrapbook". Australian War Memorial(ART03605). Archived from the original on 5 April 2013.
- ^ "First Aerial Post Great Britain to Australia 1919". Australian War Memorial.
- ^ Johnson, Joseph; Melbourne Savage Club (1994). Laughter and the love of friends : a centenary history of the Melbourne Savage Club 1894–1994 and a history of the Yorick Club 1868–1966. Melbourne Savage Club. ISBN 978-0-646-18717-4.
- ^ "George Benson, Bright". Castlemaine Art Museum Collection Online. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
External links
editPaintings
edit- ANZAC Australian War Memorial
- Anzac looking south Australian War Memorial
- Corbie from above, 12th Infantry Brigade HQ Australian War Memorial
- Chinese Labour Corps Australian War Memorial
- Lewis gunner Australian War Memorial
- The man with the donkey, Anzac 1915 Australian War Memorial
- Mont Kemmel from near Hill 60 Australian War Memorial
- Samothrace from Anzac, 1915 Australian War Memorial
- Shell green, Gallipoli Australian War Memorial
- Sketch for Walking wounded Australian War Memorial
Other
edit- Letters of a Nation Australia Post
- "Thing that CANNOT BE BOUGHT". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 20 February 1937. p. 10.