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John Howard Benson
b. Newport, RI, July 6, 1901
d. Newport, RI, February 23, 1956
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Calligrapher, scholar, sculptor, teacher, and author.
He receives his education at Rogers High School, the National Academy of
Design, and the Art Students League.
He is a man of ideas, pride, and vision, like the original owners of the
John Stevens Shop (founded in 1705 and located at 29 Thames Street in Newport).
In 1926, he rents the shop and buys it the following year.
Whereas the previous stone-cutters could rely on the help of ancestors
for information, Benson has no such luxury.
He is recognized as America's best designer of carved stone lettering and
one of the foremost calligraphers in the United States. His carving was
strong and bold.
Examples of his work are located throughout the country. He was awarded
the Craftsmanship Medal of the American Institute of Architects and numerous
honorary degrees.
In 1954 he publishes the The First Writing Book, a translation and
transcription of a 16th-century writing book.
John "Fud" Benson, his son, continues in his father's footsteps and is
noted for the inscription on the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Arlington
National Cemetery. He has also designed and executed inscriptions for such
prominent buildings as the Prudential Center in Boston, the National Gallery
of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Armand Hammer Museum of Art in
Los Angeles.
The family work is sprinkled throughout the cemeteries of Newport. These
headstones reflect the carving of stone and wood by hand, a technique that
is almost a lost art today.
Today Nicholas "Nick" Benson, the third generation of Bensons, operates
the John Stevens Shop.
Stone Carving by John Howard Benson
Courtesy of The John Stevens Shop, Newport
Bibliography
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