{{short description|American painter}}
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Władysław T. Benda
| image         = Wladyslaw T. Benda.jpg
| imagesize     = 
| caption       = Władysław Benda, 1900
| birth_name     = 
| birth_date     = 15 January 1873
| birth_place    = [[Poznań|Posen]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date     = 1948 (aged 74–75)
| death_place    = [[Newark, New Jersey]],  U.S.
| field         = painter, illustrator, designer
| training      = 
| movement      = 
| works         = 
| patrons       = 
| awards        =
| relatives = [[Helena Modjeska]] (aunt)
| children = 2
| spouse = Romola Campfield
}}

'''Władysław Teodor "W.T." Benda''' (15 January 1873 – 30 November 1948) was a Polish painter, illustrator, and designer.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dawdy|first1=Doris Ostrander|title=Artists of the American West; a Biographical Dictionary|date=1985|publisher=Sage Books|location=Chicago|page=21}}</ref>

==Early life==

The son of musician Jan Szymon Benda, and a nephew of the actress Helena Modrzejewska (known in the United States as [[Helena Modjeska]]), W.T. Benda studied art at the [[Kraków]] College of Technology and Art in his native Poland and at the School of Fine Arts in [[Vienna]], Austria. He came to the United States in 1899,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sokol|first1=Stanley S.|title=The Polish Biographical Dictionary: Profiles of Nearly 900 Poles who Made Lasting Contributions to World Civilization|url=https://archive.org/details/polishbiographic00soko|url-access=registration|date=1992|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers|location=Wauconda, IL|page=[https://archive.org/details/polishbiographic00soko/page/36 36]|isbn=9780865162457 }}</ref> to visit his Aunt Helena, who then lived in [[California]]. He stayed, and moved to New York City in 1902, where he attended the [[Art Students League of New York]] and the [[William Merritt Chase]] School. While there, Benda studied under [[Robert Henri]] and Edward Penfield.

He joined the [[Society of Illustrators]] in 1907, the [[Architectural League]] in 1916, and became a naturalized American in 1911. He was also a member of the [[National Society of Mural Painters]].

==Personal life==

He remained in NYC for the rest of his life. Benda married Romola Campfield, and they had two daughters, Eleonora and Basia, who were both artists.<ref name="K-F">[http://www.kosciuszkofoundation.org/ABGallery_Benda.html Biography of Władysław Benda at the Kosciuszko Foundation]</ref>

==Work==
[[File:Polish Army in France WWI recruitment poster.jpg|thumb|WWI recruitment poster [[Blue Army (Poland)|Polish Army in France]] created by Władysław Benda]]

Starting in 1905, Benda was primarily a [[graphic artist]]. He illustrated books, short stories, advertising copy, and magazine covers for ''[[Collier's]]'', ''[[McCall's]]'', ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'', ''[[Good Housekeeping]]'', ''Theatre Magazine'' and many others.  Many publishers regarded Benda as their  go-to artist for his dependability and artistic abilities. In his time he was as well known as [[Norman Rockwell]], [[N.C. Wyeth]] or [[Maxfield Parrish]]. During the 1920s/1930s every publication sought the look of "the American Girl", but Benda's beautiful women were often exotic and mysterious, not homespun pretty like the girls of [[Harrison Fisher]] or [[Howard Chandler Christy]]. Benda was fiercely proud of his Polish heritage and became closely associated with the [[Polish-American]] cultural institution, The [[Kosciuszko Foundation]] (see below). During the two World Wars, he designed many posters for both Poland and America.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reed|first1=Walt|title=The Illustrator in America: 1860-2000|date=2001|publisher=The Society of Illustrators|location=New York|page=132}}</ref>  Many of these posters advocated for relief efforts.<ref>Watenpaugh, Keith David. ''Bread from Stones: The Middle East and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism''. 2015. Pages 86-87. {{ISBN|9780520960800}}</ref> He was honored with the ‘[[Polonia Restituta]]’ decoration by the Polish government following [[World War I]].<ref name="M-E">[http://www.kosciuszkofoundation.org/News_Benda.html Kosciuszko Foundation: Wladyslaw Teodor Benda, Memorial Exhibition]</ref>

Beginning in 1914, Benda was also an accomplished mask maker and costume designer. His sculpted, [[papier-mâché]] face masks were used in plays and dances and often in his own paintings and illustrations. They were used in [[masque]]s or [[miracle play]]s in New York City at venues like the New York Coffee House. Benda also created the masks for stage productions in New York and London for such writers as [[Eugene O'Neill]] and [[Noël Coward]]. He became so well known as a mask maker that his name became [[Genericized trademark|synonymous]] for any lifelike mask, whether it was of his design or not. Benda also created "[[grotesque]]" masks, which were more fantasy or caricature in nature. Benda created the original mask design for the movie ''[[The Mask of Fu Manchu]]'', which was originally published as a twelve part serial in ''[[Collier's]]'' from May 7, 1932, through July 23, 1932. The cover of the May 7 issue presented a stunning portrait by Benda. In the latter stages of his career, Benda spent less time doing illustration and more time making masks.<ref name="M-E" />

At [[Busby Berkeley]]'s behest, Benda created scores of masks for the spectacular conclusion of [[Broadway Serenade]] (1939), including the faces of “all the great composers”.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Broadway Serenade |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2536/broadway-serenade |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016183746/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2536/Broadway-Serenade/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}}</ref> According to [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM]], that project earned Berkeley a contract with MGM.<ref name=":0" />

Articles by and about Benda and his masks appeared regularly in many of the same magazines and publications that carried his illustrations. In the 1930s, he authored the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' entry on masks. He also wrote a book, ''Masks'',<ref>Benda, Wladyslaw T. ''Masks''. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1944. {{OCLC|937658}}</ref> a study of his own designs and unique construction techniques.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Benda, Wladyslaw|journal=The Billboard|date=December 11, 1948|page=48}}</ref>

The [[Polish Museum of America]] and the [[Pritzker Military Museum & Library]] possess collections of Benda's posters for the relief effort in Poland.<ref name="M-E" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pritzkermilitary.org/search#q=benda&i=0&c=20&o=0&t=&a=6950&y=&v=0|title=Search - Pritzker Military Museum & Library - Chicago|publisher=}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Poles#Fine arts|List of Poles]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin|2}}
{{refend}}
* {{cite journal|last=Pohlad|first=Mark B.|title=The Man Behind the Masks - W.T. Benda|journal=Illustration Magazine|volume=4|issue=13|pages=4–36|url=http://www.illustration-magazine.com/illustration-13.html|access-date=2013-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716193947/http://www.illustration-magazine.com/illustration-13.html|archive-date=2013-07-16|url-status=dead}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|b=no|n=no|q=no|v=no|wikt=no|author=yes|commonscat=yes|d=Q4083691}}
* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=36188}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Władysław T. Benda |sopt=w}}
* [http://histmag.org/?id=2497 ''Farby, maski i wolność. Niepodległościowa twórczość Władysława Teodora Bendy'' ] (in Polish)
* [http://www.americanartarchives.com/benda.htm W. T. Benda artwork at American Art Archives website]
* [http://www.fantasyguilde.com/benda/benda.html fantasyguilde.com, under explicit GFDL license by owner, Lawrence D. Wood)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303165732/http://www.fantasyguilde.com/benda/benda.html |date=2009-03-03 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benda, Wladyslaw T.}}
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States]]
[[Category:Painters from Newark, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Students of Robert Henri]]
[[Category:Artists from Poznań]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Posen]]
[[Category:Art Students League of New York alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American painters]]
[[Category:American male painters]]
[[Category:20th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:Polish plastic artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American illustrators]]