Evelyn and Ben Wilson

Companions; Slab construction of white clay; 19x10x7;
Veronica; 1990; 48×41; Oil on masonite

The Wilsons have an extensive history working and teaching in New York and New Jersey. We are proud to have the chance to exhibit their sculptures and paintings we have collected. Ben Wilson’s style adapted throughout his life to changing world events. During World War II he painted dark social realist themes in reaction to the Holocaust; and as the world changed, so did his style, moving towards optimistic abstraction inspired by constructivism.

Eschewing popular movements, Wilson was always one to pursue a personal aesthetic. Despite more than 30 one-man shows and 50 years of teaching, he increasingly withdrew from the gallery scene but continued to paint daily until his death at age 88 in 2001 in Blairstown, New Jersey where he and his sculptor wife Evelyn Wilson lived and worked in their rustic Revolutionary War-era stone house and studio. Evelyn is well known for her modestly sized abstract figurative styled sculptures. These works often depict intimate scenes between individuals with a mysterious blue patina, which suggests both history and expressive gesture. Combined with Ben’s paintings, we can be reminded of bad times evolving into better times and the importance of optimism for a progressive future.