Beschreibung:

Lot of approximately 77 letters with original covers, all but two written by Eugene Benson (1839-1908), member of the National Academy of Design, art critic, and painter; remaining letters written by Benson's mistress Henriette Malan Fletcher (1830-1917). Addressed to Benson's first cousin and childhood friend, Albert Rudolph Cooper (1840-1917) of Louisville, Kentucky. Nearly all letters 4pp+ with a large number 8pp+ in length. Bulk of the collection spans January 1863 - May 1871, a pivotal time in Benson's literary and artistic career. Includes references to significant American painters including Winslow Homer to Benson's art criticism and prominent post-Civil War literary publications, and to many of the leading intellectuals and editors of the day. Also notable in the collection is the extensive discourse related to Benson's step-daughter, writer Julia Constance Fletcher (1853-1938), who wrote under the pseudonym "George Fleming." An extraordinary archive with deeply personal and descriptive content, while simultaneously illustrative of a new wave of influential mid-nineteenth century American artists and art criticism. Benson's writing is emotional, philosophical, and at times brutally honest, perhaps because he writes to his cousin who, by every indication, is a close friend and confidante. Albert R. Cooper's mother and Benson's mother were sisters, and their children were raised alongside one another in New York. Federal Census records show Cooper working as a bookkeeper in NYC in 1860, but by 1863 when this correspondence commences, Cooper was in Louisville. He would reside there for the remainder of his life. Benson forged a path that stood in stark contrast to his cousin's business pursuits, an observation that Benson himself often notes in these letters. Eugene Benson was born in Hyde Park, New York, though thereafter little is known about his early life. Presumably, he exhibited substantial artistic talent as a young man. Before his twentieth birthday, Benson had already pursued studies at the prestigious National Academy of Design and studied portraiture in the studio of painter James H. Wright (1813-1883). Benson worked alongside such notable painters as Winslow Homer Sanford Gifford, William J. Hennessy, and Eastman Johnson In 1862, Benson was elected as a member of the Academy. His journalistic pursuits emerged during this time as a way to supplement his meager income as a painter, though it would soon evolve into Benson's primary means of subsistence. Uniquely intimate and candid, this archive offers fascinating insight into the often competing aspects of Benson's life, particularly his work as a painter and critic, his affair and later marriage to Henriette Malan Fletcher, and his struggle to support himself and his family while pursuing his artistic passions. The earliest letter in the collection, 15pp in length, is representative of Benson's writing throughout the archive. Writing from the "North Tower Jan 5th 1863," an exuberant Benson states that his year "closed splendidly" having sold a picture for $100, received four commissions, and $24.00 "with my pen on the Round Table for one week's matter." The $100 painting was "Fading Days" which according to Benson received high compliments from "[Richard Henry] Stoddard the poet and Bayard Taylor " Benson notes that it was Stoddard who recommended him to write for the Round Table, that he found out who prevented him from becoming a critic for the Commercial, and that the critics of the New Path attacked him "most personally," telling Cooper: "I have twice, on former occasions exposed their pretensions, and in last week's Round Table I return to the charge - Of course they hate me - and many men in the profession view me with distrust and dislike me for my criticisms, or because I have ignored them. I am determined to do my duty and be fearless. If I have to go to the wall it shall be in a good cause." As he inevitably does, Benson then turns towards more pe