George Courtney Benson

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
Died1960
NationalityAustralian
EducationNational Gallery of Victoria Art School
Known forpainter, cartoonist, muralist, art critic
WebsiteGeorge Courtney Benson DAAO

Biography

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George 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]

Benson moved to Perth in 1931 and died there in 1960.[2]

Collections

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Benson, George Courteney". Victorian BDM. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Kerr, Joan. "George Courtney Benson". DAAO.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Lieutenant George Courtney Benson". Australian War Memorial.
  4. ^ "George Courtney Benson: an assiduous artist". Australian War Memorial.
  5. ^ '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.
  6. ^ "George Benson Scrapbook". Australian War Memorial(ART03605). Archived from the original on 5 April 2013.
  7. ^ "First Aerial Post Great Britain to Australia 1919". Australian War Memorial.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "George Benson, Bright". Castlemaine Art Museum Collection Online. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
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Paintings

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Other

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