Karl Benjamin papers
name: label: Creator
content: Benjamin, Karl
label: Names
content: Hammersley, Frederick, 1919-2009
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California -- Claremont
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- California -- Claremont
label: Topic
content: Hard-edge
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1980 by Karl Benjamin.
creator: label: Creator
content: Benjamin, Karl
setName: label: See more items in
content: Karl Benjamin papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and educator Karl Benjamin consist of thirteen items dating from 1958-1980 and include correspondence and clippings relating to Benjamin's career as a painter and teacher, and one photograph.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Karl Benjamin (1925- 2012) was a painter and educator in Claremont, California,  known for his Hard Edge geometric and vibrantly colored abstract paintings.

After serving in the United States Navy in World War II, Benjamin graduated from Southern California's University of Redlands in 1949 with a BA degree in English literature, history and philosophy. He relocated to Claremont, where he taught in public schools and subsequently at Pomona College, and began painting and exhibiting his work. Following the 1959 exhibition Four Abstract Classicists:  Karl Benjamin, Lorser Feitelson, Frederick Hammersley and John McLaughlin at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Benjamin became known as one of the region's leading Hard Edge painters. 

Benjamin received the National Endowment for the Arts Grant for Visual Arts in 1983 and 1989. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and can be found in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Museum of Modern Art, Israel, Oakland Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13 Items
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1958-1980
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.benjkarl
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of the collection, the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The papers, with the exception of one letter from Benjamin to Paul Karlstrom dated 1975 Feb. 28, were microfilmed upon receipt on reel 2786. The collection was processed, prepared for digitization, and described in a finding aid by Stephanie Ashley in 2021 with funding provided by the Frederick Hammersley Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection was digitized in 2021 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter and educator Karl Benjamin consist of thirteen items dating from 1958-1980 and include correspondence and clippings relating to Benjamin's career as a painter and teacher, and one photograph.

Nine letters, seven of which are written by Benjamin and four of which are photocopies, are to a variety of people and relate to the beginning of Benjamin's career as a painter, his feelings about teaching, and his exhibitions, including the origins of the 1959 show Four Abstract Classicists. Included are a resignation letter to the Chino school district in 1977, and an exchange with a former student who recalls Benjamin as an art teacher.

Three clippings include a newspaper article from the Chino Champion regarding a beautification project Benjamin was involved in at Gird Elementary in Chino, California and a printed letter written and submitted by Benjamin to the Los Angeles Times in August, 1978 regarding Proposition 13. Also found is a 1977 photograph of Benjamin's baby granddaughter.