Eleanor in the Dory 1904

Frank Benson made this painting of Eleanor in the dory with oil on canvas, and all the brushstrokes of blue and yellow make me want to jump right in! Just look at Eleanor’s sun-drenched white dress, captured with short strokes of white and yellow paint, and notice how the water becomes alive with various shades of blue, from deep indigo to light turquoise. I can only imagine Benson, squinting in the sun, trying to capture the fleeting light and reflections on the water. What might he have been thinking when he made this picture, trying to depict the weight of the boat against the gentle ripples of the sea? That single stroke of paint suggesting a ripple in the water, or the way the dark shadow under the boat contrasts with the shimmering surface… Benson’s is in conversation with artists like Monet and Renoir, exploring the interplay between light, color, and movement. Painting is like that, you know, we are all just bouncing ideas off of each other, playing a never-ending game of telephone across time.